Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Raytrace]

I've been told that many times. And while I'm still man-crushing on Tobias Funke, our physiques are nothing alike. I have an enviable mane, no bender mustache, quite tall, and relatively fit considering I'm fucking 38.

I can only hope that people think I actually am a giant robot with pixel face :p

[BIL]

Decided to give Wicked City a watch, since it's an iconic "video nasteh" title from my childhood that I've never seen. On one hand the tentacle rapin', massage parlour soapin' sex content is totally daft and occasionally offensive, as is the plot. On the other the protagonist is a likeable bloke with a strong chin and a later RABU SCENE is touching, if obviously shoehorned into a very silly movie. I also liked the action scenes, specifically one unkillable demon's resemblance to John Carpenter's The Thing and how Mr. Protagonist's handcannon consistently blasts him off his feet into the nearest wall, with him always making sure to have something solid at his back before firing. Good detail and sense of impact. At only 80 minutes it doesn't waste time and is always pleasing to look at. Great "pervy ol' man" character too.

Can't say I was crazy about it (Kawajiri's own Ninja Scroll is a far superior action movie with many of the same elements more artfully incorporated) but it's certainly decent.

[drauch]

Wicked City is actually my favorite Kawajiri work. I just love that blue tint, back alley, seedy underworld full of demons and monsters. It's just so... wicked. I feel it's his most stylish work aesthetically, and probably his darkest thematically--and literally! I love Ninja Scroll along with everyone else, but I just adore his style in Goku Midnight Eye, Demon City Shinjuku, and Wicked City. His stuff just reminds me so much of Argento, Bava, and HK horror stuff like Devil Fetus, The Seventh Curse, The Rape After, etc.. It's like the entire movie is the Demons poster.

[BIL]

I love Ninja Scroll along with everyone else, but I just adore his style in Goku Midnight Eye, Demon City Shinjuku, and Wicked City.

I'm not kidding, it seems every next anime I want to watch is by this guy. Definitely getting this one for tonight.

I also need sleep badly, I read that as "The Rape Ever" >_< (aka THIS)

[drauch]

You'll definitely dig it, man. Buichi Terasawa, the same master behind Space Adventure Cobra.! More super macho manliness with the protagonist having an odd, invincible weapon that destroys everything.

Is The Rape After Really that much better? After what? I still don't know and I've seen the movie.



The Birds 3: The Rape After.

[BIL]

Is The Rape After Really that much better? After what? I still don't know and I've seen the movie.

Oh no, it's horrifying - it's more that "The Rape Ever" is making me crack up uncontrollably while watching a little Italian dude getting bummed by a massive Nigerian in prison to Naruto music.

[Randorama]

I suggest Shin Sekai Yori as an interesting anime. It discusses several interesting and thoughtful themes with elegance. I cannot say much more as the themes are tightly interwoven to the plot, so I'd only release spoilers. It does take inspiration from several dystopian classics (Huxley, Golding, etc.), but has one flaw: everything is revealed in the very last episode. Well, the animation is also crappy, at times, but this is an anime that must be watched for its content. Now, if we could get at least 3-4 series that are almost to classic levels of content, I'd be happy.

EDIT:

Some aspects of the plot remain implicit, in the anime. The waifu says that the original novels are clearer, plot-wise.

[KAI]

Seems interesting, gonna watch it, thanks.

[Raytrace]

just rewatched 'Quattro Bajeena' 'revealing' himself as Char in episode 37 of Zeta - great episode - though not quite as epic as 'Gihren's Speech'.

[Raytrace]

ok I'm about to watch Wicked City - is it one I should choose the dub for? I'm kinda feeling it is

[BIL]

I watched the sub while wishing I was watching the dub, so yeah.

[Raytrace]

I watched the sub while wishing I was watching the dub, so yeah.

I remember from the glimpses I caught of it at 4-5 am at peoples houseparties back then that the Manga Ltd. dub was 100% badass :p

[Raytrace]

I'm aborting watching it till tomorrow night because again, as usual, procrastination has meant I've left it too late, still I watched that classic opening scene, I can never unsee it - it is very similar to Ninja Scroll artistically and atmosphere wise, just kinda chilling, sometimes for seemingly no reason at all, I mean in Ninja Scroll for example just that freaky bastard communicating through some weird thread thing gave me the creepies o_O.

[drauch]

Ughhhhhh, don't watch the dub. . I take my anime fuckin' SERIOUS, and I'm also a diehard dub hater in all media, so take that with an entire container of salt. Main dude's voice is manly as hell, though.

[Raytrace]

well you know that in general I am sub loyalist, but some of those Manga Ltd. ones are just so entertaining - however maybe it would be more chilling without the lulz of the dub so maybe - hmmm o_O

I'm startin to watch Nadia and within 3 minutes it is really apparent it's the same guy that did Evangelion's music :p.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Ughhhhhh, don't watch the dub. . I take my anime fuckin' SERIOUS, and I'm also a diehard dub hater in all media, so take that with an entire container of salt.

It's really hard sometimes getting people to understand why dubs just aren't good. A good dub needs to not only be translated well, but make sure it maintains the original inflection and emotion in the character's voices... a sub on the other hand never has that issue, you can always read emotions based on the tone of voice, and even a poor subbing job still is more enjoyable than a poor dubbing job where the lips are obviously out of sync and the voices are flat and monotone. And when the dub is as good as the original I'd still take the sub because I want the authentic character voices.

The only advantage of a dub I can see is for people with visual disabilities - I'm not sure how you'd have described video and have a subtitling job done at the same time otherwise, whereas I can see described video working in an anime dub.

Really, this applies to any foreign language film/show, regardless of if it's live action or anime.

[Raytrace]

has anyone managed to see this:

http://myanimelist.net/anime/7248/Gunbuster_Renewal_EX

or this:

http://myanimelist.net/anime/20471/Aoki_Uru_Pilot_Film

?

also I've seen Royal Space Force, Gunbuster I and II, all Evangelion anything, TTGL, FLCL and Otaku No Video - apart from Nadia are there any other Gainax things I might like?

[Raytrace]

Ughhhhhh, don't watch the dub. . I take my anime fuckin' SERIOUS, and I'm also a diehard dub hater in all media, so take that with an entire container of salt.

It's really hard sometimes getting people to understand why dubs just aren't good. A good dub needs to not only be translated well, but make sure it maintains the original inflection and emotion in the character's voices... a sub on the other hand never has that issue, you can always read emotions based on the tone of voice, and even a poor subbing job still is more enjoyable than a poor dubbing job where the lips are obviously out of sync and the voices are flat and monotone. And when the dub is as good as the original I'd still take the sub because I want the authentic character voices.

The only advantage of a dub I can see is for people with visual disabilities - I'm not sure how you'd have described video and have a subtitling job done at the same time otherwise, whereas I can see described video working in an anime dub.

Really, this applies to any foreign language film/show, regardless of if it's live action or anime.

all I 100% agree with, but still Mad Bull 34, Dominion Tank Police and Cyber City Oedo 808 have dubs which I find IMMENSELY entertaining.

[GaijinPunch]

has anyone managed to see this:

http://myanimelist.net/anime/7248/Gunbuster_Renewal_EX


?

also I've seen Royal Space Force, Gunbuster I and II, all Evangelion anything, TTGL, FLCL and Otaku No Video - apart from Nadia are there any other Gainax things I might like?

Gunbuster Renewal I believe is the HD remaster of the original. Considerable amount of work went into it from what I've heard, although I have no fucking clue where I heard that from. Go here and check out "Releases" and see where this fits in. For what it's worth, the it's rated well.

[DaneSaga]

Gunbuster Renewal are 3 short specials that came with the Top wo Nerae! Blu-ray set (it may also be on a DVD set somewhere but I only have the BD).
"Good Morning OGH!" (sort of follows cadets Harumi and Yumiko in a montage of training for a day) , "Cosmic Space Battle" (short space battle consisting of pilots fighting against the insect Aliens at Halley’s comet just before the Gunbuster launches), and "the Sizzler Project" (Jung trialling a mass produced Gunbuster).
The first two are roughly 2 minutes in length whilst the third goes for a tad over 4 minutes.
There is not much to them to be honest, as they’re pretty insignificant regarding content (the one at the training school is almost entirely made up of static screens with very little in the way of animation), but I think they were made to coincide with the release of Gunbuster 2, so don’t worry about busting your guts to see them. Though they may be on youtube or a torrent site if you want to check them out.

[gbaplayer]

Queens Blade (all 3 seasons).

but only the uncut version.

[BIL]

all I 100% agree with, but still Mad Bull 34, Dominion Tank Police and Cyber City Oedo 808 have dubs which I find IMMENSELY entertaining.

Yes - I always go with subs if the option is there (any medium), but Manga UK's dubs are just loveable. Totally worth re-watching Oedo and Ninja Scroll with them, especially with company.

"It's way past your bedtime motherfucker!"



Animated GIF ™ and © Raytrace

[Raytrace]

"It's way past your bedtime motherfucker!"



Animated GIF ™ and © Raytrace

hehe - yeah it is just unbelievably entertaining - expletives as expletives, expletives as adjectives, just expletives everywhere!

[KAI]

are there any other Gainax things I might like?

Karekano is great, hilarious and touching.
Fuck, their new series (Neppu Kairiku Bushi Road) has been delayed.

[Raytrace]

are there any other Gainax things I might like?

Karekano is great, hilarious and touching.
Fuck, their new series (Neppu Kairiku Bushi Road) has been delayed.

cools Imma check it

[Raytrace]

trying to convince mai waifu to watch Wicked City with me tonight, because well I'll be honest, I'm a big scaredy waredy cat, sure I couldn't watch more than 20 minutes of Tatakae Iczer 01 before I cowered in fear and switched it off o_O :p!

[Bananamatic]

Speaking of Gainax, C3-bu sold only 267 copies. It wasn't bad IMO but everyone in Japan seemed to hate it since day 1.
They just might be dead now because everything in the last 5 years they made had shit sales.

Also started watching Gear Fighter Dendoh, it's pretty damn cool so far even for a kid show. Shame that past ep13 the only subs available are the dreaded Hong Kong subs(with interlacing on top). It apparently isn't as bad as the Mazinger ones though.

[EmperorIng]

I flip flop on dubs and subs, but as a general rule, I think Manga UK dubs are at least trying to be their own thing, even if they don't -quite- succeed all the time.

The Devilman OVA dubs are entertaining (but as one buddy put it to me, a 'farce' compared to the original, which I think is half-true), Cyber City Oedo 808 is a riot (perfectly cast in my opinion!), and there's a charm going on with the constant foul-mouthed Brooklyn/Bronx accents that you just can't get anywhere else.

Now I just need to see an anime with Chicago accents and I can be happy!
YA KNOW WAD I TINK YA FFUCKIN' ASSHOLE
I TINK YOU FULLA SHHIT
DA NEX TIME I CATCH YOU POKIN YURUGLY HEAD AROUND DIS JOINT YOU FUCKIN' DEAD MEAT PAL
NOW GIT LOST I'M TRYYYIN' T'EAT MA SASSIGE

On that note, I finally mustered up the courage to watch Violence Jack, and the first two episodes (Evil Town and Hell's Wind) are surprisingly entertaining - if you do what I did and skip past the token sexual-assualt/rape scenes that they oh-so-needed in these two. I'm watching the cut versions - I saw clips of the uncut Violence Jack years ago and that is waaaay too over-the-line for me. The dub makes it funny and I really like Violence Jack's deep voice, even if his lines usually are just "GO TO HELL!!!!!" It's cheap exploitation with some unsavory parts, but it's nice to see some vigilante justice at the end of each. Slum King is the only one left, and I'm sure it's the most tasteless of the three.

After that I gotta watch Wicked City as well.

[Softdrink 117]

I realized a little while ago that I can convince myself to watch almost anything, assuming I have a recommendation from a friend or the show has a compelling premise. So with that in mind, here's some of what I've watched in the last few months:

Kaiba --
In a word, fantastic. The contrast between the beautifully exaggerated and childlike presentation and the often serious and even disturbing plotline makes for a very compelling series. The only thing to be aware of is that the fansubs don't have the best continuity, so there are some errors here and there which do the already complex show a disservice.

REDLINE --
Visually amazing. Pretty good soundtrack too, although it can get a bit stale. The plot is the weakest part of the film, and although I personally like it I can understand a lot of the criticism it gets. The english dub is also quite good.

Blue Submarine No. 6 --
I liked it, but I've heard it's quite polarizing. The visuals can be a bit jarring, since it was (IIRC) one of the first series to try to integrate CG with more traditional animation.

Sword Art Online --
Initially on finishing this series my impression was very positive, to the point where I wrote favorably about it in a few places (including this very thread, quite briefly before I changed my mind). However, when I stopped and thought about it a few hours later, I came to the interesting realization that I can't actually think of anything particularly good about it. At all. The premise is cool, and somewhat timely. The first arc of the show is okay. But the second is terrible by comparison, and felt incredibly cliched and predictable. There isn't really any character development to speak of, which is unusual, because the show makes a big point out of emphasizing character relationships. I guess overall my opinion is that the series is resoundingly meh.

Spice and Wolf --
Dat Holo. Dat economics. Very good, and surprisingly believable. Before I watched it, the premise sounded to me like a typical 'magical girl wish fulfillment' type story-- which is a far cry from how things actually play out. I found the characters endearing, and the business ventures felt sufficiently dramatic without ever seeming blatantly unreasonable.

Currently watching Accel World. I'm only about halfway through the show, but I like it so far. It's based on a novel written by the same guy who wrote Sword Art Online, so I'm wary of what might happen, but so far it has none of the same problems. The protagonist does have a bit of Shinji Ikari syndrome, but in this case it actually seems justified rather than forced due to the circumstances (the main character in Accel World is short and overweight, and it's shown that he's been brutally teased for much of his life. Plus, since the show takes place in a middle school setting, it seems more developmentally appropriate given the age of the characters involved).

[trap15]

REDLINE --

I think I watched this 2 or 3 times in a week after my first time watching it. The audiovisual candy gets me over how weak the plot is. Also dat pompadour

Spice and Wolf --

Greatest wolf girl. Enjoyed the hell out of the series. Good stuff.