Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Obiwanshinobi]

I heard some military lab out there actually worked on liquid you can breath in and out like air safely, i.e. the idea's been around for while. Though I imagine respiration in submergence as Evangelion depicts it would be quite a struggle against the pressure if the liquid's density was about that of water.
P.S. Actually no, regardless of density, it wouldn't be as much struggle as breathing in air underwater.

Watching Key the Metal Idol. Cool mecha design:

[Ruldra]

I heard some military lab out there actually worked on liquid you can breath in and out like air safely, i.e. the idea's been around for while. Though I imagine respiration in submergence as Evangelion depicts it would be quite a struggle against the pressure if the liquid's density was about that of water.
P.S. Actually no, regardless of density, it wouldn't be as much struggle as breathing in air underwater.

The movie "The Abyss" shows a guy using breathing liquid to dive deep into the ocean. He can breathe normally but the initial process of inhaling the liquid looks really painful. In Evangelion they inhale that stuff like air.

And according to wikipedia, the fluid used in the movie actually exists and was tested on a scientist who almost died.

themoreyouknow.jpg

[drauch]

We really need to keep this thread going, by the way. Thanks to someone a few pages back I've become obsessed with the Kimagure Orange Road anime, and I also finally got inspired and found the Space Adventure Cobra series. It's a shame this stuff is OOP, and so many great things still haven't got released for English audiences. I find it criminal that someone as influential as Go Nagai has hardly anything released in the states...except "new" Cutie Honey, which is horribly mediocre compared to the original (still hot, though).

Don't forget the English dub of Mazinger Z called Tranzor Z back in the 70s and early 80s. AD Vision also brought Mazinkaiser. U.S. Renditions and Manga Video both released Devilman and the indie comic publisher Verotik released a colourised manga. Violence Jack was released by The Right Stuf, Intl., Kama Sutra was released by Kitty Video, and Kekko Kamen was released by SoftCel Pictures (or was it AD Vision?). I forget who released Shuten Doji (I think it was also AD Vision!). Shin Cutey Honey... it's a guilty pleasure. I loved it when it was first released on videocassette (I still have them) and I also have some old dvds (disc 1 is scratched from the times I've lent it out). This title was lampooned back in the late 80s/early 90s in one of those bizarre "furry" comics called "Cutey Bunny"

Really? I can't find Violence Jack, and a lot of that stuff seems OOP. If anything, I wish they would release the manga of these, especially Cutie Honey.

[xbl0x180]

We really need to keep this thread going, by the way. Thanks to someone a few pages back I've become obsessed with the Kimagure Orange Road anime, and I also finally got inspired and found the Space Adventure Cobra series. It's a shame this stuff is OOP, and so many great things still haven't got released for English audiences. I find it criminal that someone as influential as Go Nagai has hardly anything released in the states...except "new" Cutie Honey, which is horribly mediocre compared to the original (still hot, though).

Don't forget the English dub of Mazinger Z called Tranzor Z back in the 70s and early 80s. AD Vision also brought Mazinkaiser. U.S. Renditions and Manga Video both released Devilman and the indie comic publisher Verotik released a colourised manga. Violence Jack was released by The Right Stuf, Intl., Kama Sutra was released by Kitty Video, and Kekko Kamen was released by SoftCel Pictures (or was it AD Vision?). I forget who released Shuten Doji (I think it was also AD Vision!). Shin Cutey Honey... it's a guilty pleasure. I loved it when it was first released on videocassette (I still have them) and I also have some old dvds (disc 1 is scratched from the times I've lent it out). This title was lampooned back in the late 80s/early 90s in one of those bizarre "furry" comics called "Cutey Bunny"

Really? I can't find Violence Jack, and a lot of that stuff seems OOP. If anything, I wish they would release the manga of these, especially Cutie Honey.

Mazinkaiser/Shutendoji double pack:
http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827 ... c/asc/50/1

Kama Sutra
http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827 ... 8344/4/0/0

Shin Cutey Honey/Kekko Kamen double pack:
http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827 ... 8880/4/0/0

Violence Jack
http://www.amazon.com/Violence-Jack-Vol ... 609&sr=8-1

Devilman
http://www.amazon.com/Devilman-Vol-Gene ... 39&sr=1-24

Getter Robo
http://www.amazon.com/Getter-Robo-Armag ... 97&sr=1-13

Black Lion
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Lion-Fear-V ... 81&sr=1-46

Abashiri Family
http://www.amazon.com/Abashiri-Family-V ... 78&sr=1-33

Iron Virgin Jun
http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Virgin-Jun-C ... 32&sr=1-40

"Tranzor Z"
http://www.amazon.com/Tranzor-Mightiest ... 704&sr=1-1


Looks like AD Vision released the majority of these titles. Hence, they are outta print, but they can still be found at Amazon and The Right Stuf, Intl. Some are overpriced and others are cheep

[drauch]

Yeah, a bit of those are a tad overpriced for my taste. Looks like I'll just hope for the future.

[xbl0x180]

Honestly, I can't blame you for not getting past episode 8. Bar the ever present apocalyptic bleakness, very little has happened up to that point - it really is a very slow burner.

However, in the show's defence it's got plenty of positive qualities. I liked the agility of the Eva's compared to regular giant robots, it made the battle sequences refreshing and dynamic. I disagree that the character designs are without value but each to their own, I find most modern anime designs bland even compared to Evangelion (see Diebuster.)

If you go the distance the show gets eerier and eerier, definitely getting its hooks in and in moments swallowing you up almost completely. While the backstory doesn't really start unfolding until around episode 18, the character development is intriguing up until that point and you're constantly given something new to chew on.

My only fault with the show is, as posted on the previous page's review, it has no ending and no definite direction. What could have been excellent turned out to be a whimsical bunch of nonsense littered with plot holes and a total artfag excuse for a finale that offers little else except incoherency. Thanks Anno.

I would blame the director more if I didn't accept that he's Japanese, and Japanese directors tend to do crap like this all the time.

It would be nice if he knew what the show's ending meant at least, but he clearly hasn't got a clue either.

Hahaha. You know, your general description of the show here reminds me of how I'd describe Strawberry Panic. God damn, I hated that show for about 12 episodes for pretty much every reason I listed for hating all animu: slow pacing, weird character designs, little girls doing cute things, weird premise/setting. I was watching maybe one episode a week until about a little over midway... then I sat down and watched the rest of the show in the span of two days

Pacing: It's a grower. Towards the end, the story picks up and I found myself wanting to see how things would conclude. Honestly, I thought the ending was happy and sad at the same time. Hell, if this show had decent editing and a little better writing, it could've been better.

Designs: Little bodies with big heads, very anorexic/Twiggy-looking from some angles, but the colouring was bright and some of the main characters did look well-drawn (esp. their hair).



Little girls doing cute things: I still would not recommend it in good faith because of this. Over half the characters were useless filler.



Weird premise: The show's setting reminded me a little of a French movie called Innocence, directed by Lucile Hadžihalilović. After a while, you stop asking yourself, "Where is this place?! What happened to the adults? How is any of this possible?" That and the whole yuri thing took about... 18 episodes (out of 24) to finally get used to [but not really].

[Obiwanshinobi]

Watched Key the Metal Idol to the end. Let's get the tired ball rolling:

1994



2006

[Randorama]

In "defense" of Gainax and Anno, they explicitly said that the original end of Evangelion was a blunder made when they were out of money, and that the "End of Evangelion" was the intended finale. As far as I can tell, their financial situation during episode 25 and 26 was really, really horrible (say, Yakuza hitmen waiting at the door for money, apparently), so I excuse them for the artfaggery.

The most interesting part is that the revenue from the series started pouring in a few weeks after the series' ending, so they suddenly went from rags to reaches, *billions of yens* after paying all the loans. "End of Evangelion" was apparently made with an "unlimited budget" policy.

[greg]

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water looks interesting (a Miyazaki concept!). Just reading about it led me to Future Boy Conan which I'm also going to check out, Thanks.

Yeah, Future Boy Conan is unbelievably cool! Lots of Miyazaki's themes were born on that show: Nausicaa-styleflying fortresses, and Conan and Lana are the prototypes of Pazu and Sheeta from Laputa.

I'm inclined to agree with you, but I just couldn't get past the island arc.

The island story arc in Nadia was great, I think. I can see why people would get bored with it, but it's like a several episode long intermission before the story gets real serious again. The pace slows down and takes time to develop the characters, but I thought those episodes were fun.

[chempop]

Recently watched Eden of the East. Pretty good, better than most of the crap I've watched recently.

[ryu]

that movie sequel bullshit killed eden of the east completely, though. at least that's when you watched the series as it aired.

[antron]

I just signed up for Netflix (streaming), and to my surprize I saw that there is an entire section for anime as big as the movie or TV sections.

Netflix users, what's good on there?

[greg]

I just signed up for Netflix (streaming), and to my surprize I saw that there is an entire section for anime as big as the movie or TV sections.

Netflix users, what's good on there?

It's probably all dubbed in English. Personally, I wouldn't bother.

[drauch]

Yeah, it is all dubbed if you stream it.

[iconoclast]

I just signed up for Netflix (streaming), and to my surprize I saw that there is an entire section for anime as big as the movie or TV sections.

Netflix users, what's good on there?

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Baccano!
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Mushishi
Darker Than Black
Dead Leaves

And like everyone said, it's all dubbed. Both GitS and Baccano have good (arguably superior) dubs though. Dunno about the rest of them.

[xbl0x180]

I just signed up for Netflix (streaming), and to my surprize I saw that there is an entire section for anime as big as the movie or TV sections.

Netflix users, what's good on there?

It's probably all dubbed in English. Personally, I wouldn't bother.

Ew. More reason to cancel netfix streaming and switch to their dvd rentals

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Stop being such an obnoxious weeaboo already.

[xbl0x180]

Stop being such an obnoxious weeaboo already.

Stop being such an annoying c**t already.

[drauch]

The battle begins.

[iconoclast]

Just watched Redline. Holy shit, the art and animation is easily some of the best (if not the best) that I've ever seen. Practically every frame has an incredible amount of detail, and all of it animates fluidly with lots of style. The visuals are simply amazing.

And of course, the movie itself was great. There's a lot of fast paced action, and the cast is packed full of interesting and likable characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Kaleido Star is pretty good.

[Randorama]

Gurren Lagann is awesome. It falls squarely within the category of "so bad it is actually good". I think that Gainax sat down and wrote a list of completely retarded macho things that still were missing in a mecha anime (say, a mecha with sun glasses). There should be some law by which a similarly over-the-top series should be made very year. A proper sequel would of course solve all the problems in the world, to begin with.

Also, the Kamina theme by itself would kill Chuck Norris with a wink, if it were not Chuck Norris' theme when he walks.

EDIT:

And for shit and giggles, get manlier with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaZgFHuG ... re=related

[Ebbo]

And for shit and giggles, get manlier with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaZgFHuG ... re=related

Just for the record for those two who haven't seen TTGL: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD.

Other than that, carry on >)

[Gus]

Kiss x Sis would be the perfect anime for you guys.

[Frenetic]

Ichi the Killer's film adaptation by Takashi Miike made quite a splash in the West. Just a warning it is a very adult (seinen) manga (NSFW). But we should all revisit it in manga form. So intense. After reading Homunculus I am convinced that Yamamoto Hideo is very much into George Bataille.

Cheers,
F

[Icarus]

Just started watching Toaru Majutsu no Index and I like what I see so far.

[ryu]

i've been waiting for someone to cross that line.

index is really bad. i have to admit that i liked it for a while back when i watched it years ago, but even though i had pretty much zero taste in anime then the series quickly bored the shit out of me. it's just a bunch of mini arcs that have almost no relevance to any plot at all. that aside the amount of exposition in index really hurts. badly. be prepared for lots of explanations for things you won't understand or care about either way.

then there's the second season which is the single worst animated series i have ever seen.

and i've seen a lot.

if you watch index, watch it with a friend. it's only good for talking about how bad and laughing at how ridiculous it is.

[greg]

Somebody had mentioned Future Boy Conan earlier in this thread. Last night my wife and I finished watching the series laserdisc box set with our daughter. Unfortunately, laser rot has claimed the last few minutes of the final episode. Noooooooooooo!

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Guess it's time to get another LD copy of Future Boy Conan just to properly see the ending, hmmm? Yeah, I watched the final episode but Future Boy Conan was dubbed in Spanish. Still cool nevertheless.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Siren2011]

I'm watchin' Aika right now, as recommended by Obiwanshinobi, and I'm enjoying it. Fan service is nice, but this is crazy. lol. Like, every 15 seconds there's a panty shot or a nip slip of some sort. It's kinda kinky that the brother and sister are getting it on.

...Ahem. Yes...the story...It's definitely not in the leagues with Gunbuster (the characters in this one are much less charming and memorable), but it's enough to keep me somewhat interested. The destructo-cannon is an interesting plot device, but I don't quite get why salvagers of sea artifacts would fly fighter jets to a remote island. Welp! Off to watch it again for clarification.