Recommended Anime/Manga?

[ahnslaught]

CIT - I think it's beyond dispute that the movies, tv series, and especially the manga are all filled to the absolute brim with psycho and techno babble that often leaves you scratching your head

While it's true that the movie is much better animated than the show, the show itself is one of the best animated tv series I've ever seen, rivaled only by Last Exile. No real drops in quality, unlike other shows like Samurai 7. It even does a pretty good job of mixing CG with tradtional looking animation, IMO. As for the storylines of the actual shows, I just felt that it had a good mix of action and story over the season to make you interested, whereas the second movie was flawed in that it was all exposition and no movement at all (besides the last 10 minutes or something, if memory serves right). So, while the atmosphere is great, I just can't ever seem to watch the movie in one sitting without dozing off here and there, so it just sits in my collection, collecting dust.

I'm probably in the minority, but I just feel that Mamoru Oshii's movies started going downhill after the Patlabor films as they kept focusing more and more towards the psychological aspects of characters/political conflicts and less on actual story and entertainment. I can totally respect what he's trying to do in creating challenging material like Jin-roh and the GitS movies, but I'm just not looking into that in movies.

Then again, you could just say that it's all the crazy ramblings of a Patlabor fan (TV and OAVs) because he doesn't make 'em like he used to...

[LUNardei]

I absolutely love PLANETES. I keep on reading it again and again... Really fascinating. Not the best manga ever, of course, but I really like the "Space race" subject...

[Dale]

I'm a manga adict i'll tell you about my favirit's

1.Blade of the Imortal:Great storytelling unique artwork fantastic action one of the best manga's ever and in my opion one of the greatest works of fiction ever.
2.Death Note: Good artwork great story you have to pay attention to every bit of dialouge.
3.Battle Royale:Out of the book the movie and the manga I enjoyed this the best,awesome suspense great artwork(Very grim though)
4.Vagabond:Slightly based of a true story and very realistic action and gore best artwork of any manga ever.
5.Project Arm's: Good artwork great story,smarter then your average manga
great overall

[Icarus]

The only anime I've ever seen is Appleseed.

Anybody recommend other anime along those lines?

As mentioned so far, Ghost in the Shell (both the movie and the series Stand Alone Complex) are worth a watch. The movie I recommend especially, as it's extremely well done and very absorbing.

Since you've seen Appleseed, I recommend you get the updated version as well. Luckily for you it's been localised, and worth a buy. Some might not like it, but I personally enjoy it a lot.

Last Exile too. Awesome production, great story.

Then there's Akira.

While it's true that the movie is much better animated than the show, the show itself is one of the best animated tv series I've ever seen, rivaled only by Last Exile. No real drops in quality, unlike other shows like Samurai 7. It even does a pretty good job of mixing CG with tradtional looking animation, IMO.

Macross Zero. Brilliant update to a great series, or a waste of an anime budget? Discuss.

[tekneekz]

i Love GUNGRAVE i got the whole set, dont know why many ppl dont like it, i think cause it has mobsters in it.

berserk and bleach already mentioned is very good

Old school Guyver if your into bionoid suits kinda anime

im currently watching samurai 7

[GaijinPunch]

I've recently tried to watch some more recent anime. Ghost in the Shell is basically the only thing halfway recent I can stomach, other than the Miyazaki stuff. I always fall back on shit from the 80's.

[Twiddle]

Since there are too many shows from 2005 that give me vomiting reactions I'll give some suggestions for 2006 shows

Ouran High School Host Club is an extremely well done romantic comedy/general comedy
Ergo Proxy is a good show for post-apocalypse and needless pretense (and action), despite the shit-tastic first episode
Black Lagoon is a must-watch for outrageous action unseen in anime since the 90s
NHK is something to look forward to

[ahnslaught]

tekneekz - gungrave is great, though I thought the reason people wouldn't like it is because of the crazy monsters. I personally thought the mobster parts (the first 1/2 to 2/3) were the best part, as well as the ending.

icarus - Man, did I ever try to like Macross Zero. It has amazing action scenes, great character designs, and the fact that it's Macross going for it; however, ultimately, it is average at best in my opinion. The story is the main culprit here - while it does take an interesting segment of Macross to concentrate on (The Unification Wars, I believe?), it adds this crazy alien storyline to make half the story incomprehensible. Is it scifi? Fantasy? Who knows what's going on, really? If they would have concentrated solely on the rivalry against the rebels and the war, yes, the story would have been straightforward, but at least it would have been easy to follow and enjoyable; however, they add the island story on top which really makes no sense and has no relation whatsoever to anything Macross related. I almost get the feeling they put that part in the series just so they could have the obligatory singing girl, and nothing else. It's still a sight to behold, but don't pay attention to the story too much - it's ridiculous.

[Fighter17]

2x2=shinobuden (Ninja Nonsense in the states) is a really funny anime series. Too bad not many people watched the series, because it's one of the great newer animes you must watch.

If you don't give a fuck about the storyline, Ninja Nonsense doesn't even have a storyline at all! So just sit back, clear your head, and laugh.

[ahnslaught]

gaijinpunch - LUNardei said he enjoyed the manga of Planetes, but the anime is really, really good as well. It's more realistic than other anime in its setting and characters, and doesn't have too many of the annoying conventions of recent anime - i.e. idiotic characters (I can only think of 1 or 2 throughout the whole series). If you didn't know, it's about space garbage haulers, and while it's got many funny moments, it's more of a drama than anything. Not really related to ghost in the shell other than it's in the future, though it's nowhere near as high tech as ghost, but very, very good.

[Dale]

I also reccomend Ghost in the Shell,I've never seen the movie but the series is fantastic. Their's even a ghost in the shell novel series that just came out I reccomend this as well.

[Twiddle]

gaijinpunch - LUNardei said he enjoyed the manga of Planetes, but the anime is really, really good as well. It's more realistic than other anime in its setting and characters, and doesn't have too many of the annoying conventions of recent anime - i.e. idiotic characters (I can only think of 1 or 2 throughout the whole series). If you didn't know, it's about space garbage haulers, and while it's got many funny moments, it's more of a drama than anything. Not really related to ghost in the shell other than it's in the future, though it's nowhere near as high tech as ghost, but very, very good.

if the planetes anime got rid of 2/3 of the ai tanabe filler it would've been great

[Stormwatch]

I highly suggest the latest issue of the Heavy Metal magazine:



The actual comics inside have nothing to do with the cover. It has the Sky Doll series. It's an italian comic, but its style looks a lot like manga - except that it looks way better than any manga I have ever read (Vagabond would be very close if it was in full color). The story is an amazing mix of sci-fi, religion parody, and cosmic interspecies sex (including lesbianism and tentacles). Yet it has some romance bits that make you go "aww so cute".

[Turrican]

I can't recommend enough "2001 Nights" by Hoshino Yukinobu. A masterpiece of science fiction.

I think there has been a similar thread before, btw.

[Bkeela]

I don't know how people can stand Anime. The artwork and style is good, much like shmups, but the stories are such an abortion. The only thing that makes shmups supreme is the story lines are irrelevant.

I can understand people developing an appreciation of Japanese aesthetic through the video games they have created, but brainwashing yourself into enjoying Anime is just fucking pathetic.

[CIT]

I don't know how people can stand Anime. The artwork and style is good, much like shmups, but the stories are such an abortion. The only thing that makes shmups supreme is the story lines are irrelevant.

I can understand people developing an appreciation of Japanese aesthetic through the video games they have created, but brainwashing yourself into enjoying Anime is just fucking pathetic.

No, making sweeping generalizations like that is just fucking pathetic.

You do realize that there are many different themes, styles and genres of Anime, and a large range of quality, from Pokemon all the way up to "grown up" stuff like Perfect Blue.

[Daigohji]

^^ Wow, ignorant much? Out of curiosity, which anime have you seen, Bkeela?

[LUNardei]

gaijinpunch - LUNardei said he enjoyed the manga of Planetes, but the anime is really, really good as well.

Well well well, I'll buy something from play.com
No italian version for this, unluckily.

2001 Nights

Read volume 2/3 only, and I absolutely want more!

[Kiken]

I'm going to give a plug to my current favourite anime (I really should try to track down the manga it's based on): Mah-Jong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended into Darkness.. or just "Akagi".

And why has no-one mentioned Jojo's Bizarre Adventure?

[Icarus]

And why has no-one mentioned Jojo's Bizarre Adventure?

I've seen that, and always wondered where the "WRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!" internet meme came from. And then I saw the guy drop a steamroller on someone. ^_^

It's too weird for my interests though, but I might come back to it at some point. I'll take a look at "Akagi" though, if it is as good as you say.

I don't know how people can stand Anime. The artwork and style is good, much like shmups, but the stories are such an abortion. The only thing that makes shmups supreme is the story lines are irrelevant.

I do hope you're just trolling... (I'll save you from the complete version of that sentence, since I'm not in the mood to bite on some trollbait.)

I take it you've never seen anything from Miyazaki then?

Well well well, I'll buy something from play.com
No italian version for this, unluckily.

Tried looking around for an Italian fansub? There's probably at least one floating around on the internet.

[Turrican]

2001 Nights

Read volume 2/3 only, and I absolutely want more!

It's just three volumes. So either you still have to read volume 1, or it's end of the story, sorry.

[Dale]

I don't know how people can stand Anime. The artwork and style is good, much like shmups, but the stories are such an abortion. The only thing that makes shmups supreme is the story lines are irrelevant.

I can understand people developing an appreciation of Japanese aesthetic through the video games they have created, but brainwashing yourself into enjoying Anime is just fucking pathetic.

If you don't like anime don't let it turn you off to manga. I prefer Manga to anime by leaps and bounds,their are many Japanese comic's that have more mature stlyes and very westernish art and also are very story driven (not just random violence and sex) If you enjoy western comic's their are a few manga I mentioned ether that you might enjoy. Manga comic's and novel's seem to get a better variety creator's then movies anime or TV pretty much because it's easier to get a bunch of diffrent talented people involved because their are less requirment's to start.

[LUNardei]

Tried looking around for an Italian fansub? There's probably at least one floating around on the internet.

No problem, I'd like to watch it in english for practice!

...

Ehehe, sorry, I mean that I've read volume 2 (on 3) only

[Alske]

No love for Gundam? The UC stuff is still really good, though everything else is mediocre at best.

The last anime that didn't make me vomit was Full-Metal Alchemist, and before that is was Witch Hunter Robin. I used to watch it a lot until shows like Vandread, Lain and Excel Saga became the norm rather then the exception.

I'm also going to take a stand and say that Miyazaki's output after Kurenai no Buta sucks. Totoro, Luputa, and Cagliostro are three of my favorite movies, but crap like Howl's Moving Castle is atrocious.

[Twiddle]

I'm going to give a plug to my current favourite anime (I really should try to track down the manga it's based on): Mah-Jong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended into Darkness.. or just "Akagi".

Oh, that's a badass show. Great taste!

[llaoyllakcuf]

manga: I recommend Hideo Yamamoto's Ichi the Killer and Voyeur / Voyeurs, Inc.

very entertaining, adult-oriented comics that are full of dark comedy.

[NTSC-J]

Berserk is still the best.

Dark Horse is stepping up the translations, starting with vol 13 (which should be out by now) they're switching to a bi-monthly schedule. Volume 30 came out in Japan at the end of March, so we should see 31 by September. I've been buying Young Animal's to keep up though, a shame even individual episodes take forever.

If you can take dark and graphic manga, I'd recommend Suehiro Maruo's Paranoia Star. Read it once and it'll be with you for the rest of your life.

[Turrican]

found it:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=7714

[papa_shmup]

Manga: Battle Angel Alita - last order.
Anime: Godanner ("Godanner!?" hey, it's senseless and shmuppy)

[Twiddle]

Anime: Godanner ("Godanner!?" hey, it's senseless and shmuppy)

what

no

why