# Excellent Anime Worth Watching?



## Desert Hare (Mar 1, 2009)

Okay, since Relique Du Madde's description of Naruto leaves me uninterested it and actually having an interest in watching only excellent anime, I have to wonder; which anime series actually gets 4 to 5 out of 5 stars?


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## Fallen Seraph (Mar 1, 2009)

Well some of my favourite animes are and I'll divide between Movies and Series/Mini-Series/OVA:

*Movies:*
Ghost in The Shell
AKIRA
Grave of The Fireflies
Millennium Actress
Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Perfect Blue
Tokyo Godfathers

*Series/Mini-Series/OVA:*
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayel
Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Azumanga Diaoh
Spice and Wolf
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Cowboy Bebop
Planetes

There is more but that is a good list to start off with. It is a mix of drama, sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, horror, etc. I dunno how many have gotten actually 4-5 stars in various ratings but I consider these quite good.

This is just my personal opinion but stay away from anime series that go on for 100's of episodes. They I find are generally lacking in quality.


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## GSHamster (Mar 1, 2009)

My opinion on anime is that there are a couple excellent ones, and then there's a long drop-off to the rest.

Really, the only anime I've ever seen which is "excellent" are Miyazaki's movies  (Hayao Miyazaki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).


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## Krug (Mar 1, 2009)

Would add *Full Metal Alchemist* to the list of great series and *Mindgame* as well as *Nausicaa* (personal fave) to the list of movies.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Mar 1, 2009)

I would say as far as series go you can't go wrong with Bleach, and i'd say the best movie ever is Ninja Scroll. The two Vampire hunter D movies are good as well.


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## Cevalic (Mar 1, 2009)

Berserk is worth watching.


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## megamania (Mar 1, 2009)

Anime is like "action movie"   There are so many different types and styles.  I have tried Anime many times and find some stuff people love I don't and visa-versa.   It is about taste.

What do you like in a movie?






Akira I liked but the movie didn't do the book justice.  Ghost in a shell was good.  Ninja Scroll didn't click with me.

I like Lupin III but I appear to the only one.

Depends on style.


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## AdmundfortGeographer (Mar 1, 2009)

Desert Hare said:


> I have to wonder; which anime series actually gets 4 to 5 out of 5 stars?



Anime is a broad, broad medium. Asking which anime is the best is like asking which plays are the best.

What are your interests?

Are there things you dislike in anime?


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## Desert Hare (Mar 2, 2009)

Eric Anondson said:


> What are your interests?



Non-stop action, hard core sci-fi/soft fantasy, romance/love interest and lots of drama.



Eric Anondson said:


> Are there things you dislike in anime?



I honestly don't know. I've only seen an episode or two of Witch Hunter Robin and bits and pieces of a subtitled Howl's Moving Castle. 

I guess one thing I can pinpoint that I don't like is having to watch something that has to be subtitled because the voice actors are speaking in a language other than English. I do like subtitles and captions as an aid to scenes in which the voice actors have to keep their voices low or are whispering.


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## AdmundfortGeographer (Mar 2, 2009)

Desert Hare said:


> Non-stop action, hard core sci-fi/soft fantasy, romance/love interest and lots of drama.



Hmm, certainly Akira and the two Vampire Hunter D movies fit these, though Akira is light in the romance . Akira was digitally cleaned, retranslated and rereleased I think in 1999, I'd look for that version if you are interested.







Desert Hare said:


> I honestly don't know.



I can understand this, I didn't know what I didn't like until after I watched a ton.

Things I don't like include:
–Face icons (I can deal with them in moderation, barely);
–Fly-off-the-handle boys characters that want to prove themselves (especially when it is the main character);
–Delicate flower girl characters who mope and pine episode after episode (especially when they are moping about and pining for the main boy character).

These things seriously cut out a significant swath of popular anime for me.


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## Fallen Seraph (Mar 2, 2009)

Desert Hare, if you like action and drama and sci-fi. As well as having good dubbing. I would highly, highly recommend *Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex*.

It is set in a Post-Cyberpunk Japan and deals with "Public Security Section 9" a anti-cyber terrorism organization. They deal with secret government plots, corporations, what it means to be human, etc. 

Along with this you have awesome combat with fully cyborg humans, mecha, firearms, martial-arts. The animation is some of the best in television and shows during action scenes. There is some light romance in a bit of butting interest between the two main characters.

It also has some of the best English voice-work in anime.

There are two seasons of it with different plots. Each are around 25 episodes. There is also a *Stand Alone Complex* movie. As well as the original *Ghost in The Shell* movie (though not as good English dubbing I find) and a sequel to the original movie, though this isn't as good.


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## babomb (Mar 2, 2009)

Desert Hare said:


> I guess one thing I can pinpoint that I don't like is having to watch something that has to be subtitled because the voice actors are speaking in a language other than English. I do like subtitles and captions as an aid to scenes in which the voice actors have to keep their voices low or are whispering.




I understand this, and to a certain extent I agree, if the dub is high quality. Unfortunately, in many dubbed versions of anime, the English voice acting is poor (though this has gotten somewhat better as anime has become bigger business in America). This is one reason many anime fans prefer dubs (some of them are quite snooty about it); other reasons are that the translations are often superior to dubs because the words don't have to match the mouths and the fact that one can get a fan subtitled version much sooner than an English dub, if the dub comes out at all.

We just have to find you interesting anime that have good dubs.


Movies made by Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli are distributed in the US by Disney, and have pretty good dubs. They're also among the best anime there is. They tend to be very character-centric, rather than plot-centric. Some of these movies are:
Princess Mononoke
Howl's Moving Castle
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Castle in the Sky
The Castle of Cagliostro (You should preferably see the Lupin III series before watching this, see below.)

Cowboy Bebop is one of my favorite series. The dub is not bad. It's about bounty hunters in space. Music is an important theme in the series. It's not super sci-fi. There are space ships and jumpgates, but they still shoot people with pistols.

Lupin III is about a gentleman thief, grandson of the famous gentleman thief Aresene Lupin, a contemporary of Sherlock Holmes. He and his team pull off daring capers that are undermined by Interpol or betrayal by Lupin's romantic interest Fujiko. There are actually three different Lupin series, usually referred to by the color of the jacket Lupin wears. The one you're most likely to find is the second (red jacket) series dubbed, and the dub is not bad. There are some serious moments, but it's mostly played for laughs.

Ranma 1/2 is about a skilled male martial artist, who is cursed to change into a female in cold water and back to male in hot. His father is similarly cursed to turn into a panda, and they later meet other cursed characters. Although there's some martial arts stuff, this is really a romantic comedy. It gets a bit repetitive after a while, and it's very, very silly, but it's kind of fun, and the dub is tolerable.

Ghost in the Shell is probably a good choice for you, with your stated interests. It's about a counter-terrorism unit in a cyberpunk world, and the dub is good.

Monster is probably the best anime drama I've seen. It's not available dubbed yet, but I hear it will be soon. It's about a brilliant brain surgeon who has to choose between operating on one of two patients: an important politician and a young boy. He chooses the boy, and has to deal with the consequences of this choice as he learns the boy is a serial murderer.

Metropolis is a movie loosely based on the 1927 Fritz Lang silent film. It's a dystopian future, with class warfare and a robot girl who is the key to controlling a weapon that will take over the world. The dub was pretty good, and there's a nice jazz soundtrack.

FLCL is...well, it's different. I don't really know how to describe it to you. But it's worth seeing, and it eventually makes more sense than it initially appears. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGDhmJJ6ghw]Here it is on youtube[/ame].


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## Krug (Mar 2, 2009)

> Monster is probably the best anime drama I've seen. It's not available dubbed yet, but I hear it will be soon. It's about a brilliant brain surgeon who has to choose between operating on one of two patients: an important politician and a young boy. He chooses the boy, and has to deal with the consequences of this choice as he learns the boy is a serial murderer.



This had so much potential, but it dragged way too long, and kinda sputtered out in the end, like so many other anime series. Nonetheless there were some great episodes in there.


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## StreamOfTheSky (Mar 3, 2009)

megamania said:


> I like Lupin III but I appear to the only one.




I also like Lupin III.  I also did like Ninja Scroll, though. (And beware Ninja Resurrection, which sucks and tries to pose as a sequel to scroll).


Have to recommend Record of Lodoss War, both the OVA and the tv series (chronicles of the heroic knight).  Fantasy series, based off a campaign from a D&D offshoot, or something.  I'm sure others could explain it better.  But it has fantasy, magic, fighting, and romance.

The entire Gundam series is excellent, though some is more light-hearted, while most of it is serious.  I've seen Gundam Wing, 00, half of Seed, 08th MS team, and G Gundam.  Of them, they are all great mecha anime with lots of political maneuverings and character development.  Except G Gundam (and I guess 08th MS somewhat).  G Gundam is just a "street fighter" gundam, and pretty fun if you don't take it seriously.  Haven't seen any of the original timeline yet, but I've heard all good things about those series.

Bastard is another fantasy anime set in a dystopian future.  The main character is a cocky a-hole and very much an anti-hero, if a hero at all (until the end), but man is he entertaining to watch declare things like, "There's only one god, and his name is Dark Schneider!" (himself).  Actually has character development.  Some nudity.

Martian Successor Nadesico is a great sci-fi and mecha anime parody, eventually mocking even more subjects, liek anime otaku.

Trigun has good shoot outs, but it's a great series more for the character. The first half, the anime is kinda silly,and has a good amount of humor, but as the main character's past dominates the later episodes, it becomes much more dark and tragic.  Setting is futuristic, yet western, on some other planet that a colonization ship crash lands on.

Also going to second Cowboy Bebop, Miyzaki, Metropolis, and FLCL.
I'll list more as I think of them.


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## Rackhir (Mar 4, 2009)

I would check out these threads.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/media-lounge/241162-manga-anime-recommendations.html
http://www.enworld.org/forum/media-lounge/207469-anime-recommendations.html
http://www.enworld.org/forum/media-lounge/201886-point-me-anime.html

It has a bunch of manga recomendations as well. Anything I'd add would just be a retread of my recomendations in those threads.

For something a little different here's a thread on great anime opening/closing credit sequences.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/media-lounge/187493-favorite-anime-ops.html

Most of the Youtube links don't work anymore though.


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## papa_laz (Mar 6, 2009)

If I had to choose one series to recommend to you it would be Neon Genesis Evangelion. One of the most original and gripping story lines you're ever likely to see. 

As for movies Ninja Scroll is a fantastic piece of fantasy and has often inspired me when writing a campaign. Howls Moving Castle is also very fantastical and beautiful to watch.


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## Plane Sailing (Mar 6, 2009)

babomb said:


> Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
> Castle in the Sky




Just quoted to point out that these are two of my favourite movies of all time. I love them just as much now as when I first saw them.


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## TwinBahamut (Mar 6, 2009)

Desert Hare said:


> Non-stop action, hard core sci-fi/soft fantasy, romance/love interest and lots of drama.



Okay, given that, it seems your tastes aren't too far off the kinds of things I watch. If only I knew what you thought of mecha... Oh well.

For pure non-stop action sci-fi/soft fantasy/romance stuff, one of my classic favorites is Outlaw Star.

Beyond that, I suggest giving almost any of the various Gundam series a try. They vary widely, but many are quite good. The original Mobile Suit Gundam shows its age, but isn't a bad place to start to the "Universal Century" saga (try to find the movie trilogy version if you want a quick start). Zeta Gundam, the sequel to the original Gundam, is considered the classic great of the franchise (though it is depressing and has its oddities). My personal favorite is Gundam Wing (it is self-contained), but the recent Gundam 00 is pretty good (but to warn you it starts slow, and I am still waiting for the second half of the English version).

I think I have to mention the classic Neon Genesis Evangelion, though I also think I should give you the required warning that this series can get very strange and has a more terrible ending than you can possibly imagine. It might be better to wait for the new theatrical version, I suppose. Also, the company that made this went on to create both the incredibly fun FLCL and Tenga Toppen Gurren Lagann, which are really good themselves.

Also, my current favorite anime is Code Geass: Lelouch of the Revolution. You can even see the first 15 episodes of this one for free at Bandai's Youtube Channel.

Actually, several anime companies have Youtube channels (like Funimation or host videos on services like Joost or Hulu, so you might want to go to one of those places yourself to see what is available that you may be interested in.


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## qstor (Mar 11, 2009)

I'll second third etc  the comments on Miyazaki's movies, Ghost in the Shell, Witch Hunter Robin, Berserker, Ninja Scroll and Akira.

I don't really care for Full Metal Alchemist but I know a lot of people that like it. I also dislike the anime with teen aged school girl typed characters with wide eyes. That turns me off.

Some other movies/series that I liked that I think weren't mentioned:

Jin-Roh, The Wolf Brigade,
Samurai Champloo
Wicked City
Samurai 7
Demon City Shinjuku 

Mike


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Mar 11, 2009)

Chrono crusade
Junni Kokki, the twelve kingdoms
and Outlaw star 
are all worth checking out too.


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## Desert Hare (Mar 12, 2009)

TwinBahamut said:


> If only I knew what you thought of mecha... Oh well.




I adore the concept of mecha. Steampunk is one of my favorite concepts as well.


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## frankthedm (Mar 12, 2009)

Steamboy and Gundam Wing for certain. Maybe Escaflowne, perhaps Aquarion.

Some folks swear by Evengelion, others swear at it. I have grown to loath anime characters like Shinji so I can't get into it. But it is mecha and there is wangst {some call it drama], so maybe you'll care for it.

The Old version of Bubblegum Crisis may be worth taking a look at. Maybe the new ones.

Also what are your opinions on fanservice? It can be fairly prevalent in anime. 

Neo Ranga seemed to be an interesting mecha anime, but I did not watch many episodes. It can be somewhat generous with the fanservice.

Not sure if I would have recommend the awesomely violent  Ninja scroll but take a look at the description to help with your decision on that one since it does go outside  of what some folks would consider the bounds of good taste in one notable scene. Also take "nearly" with a grain of salt.


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## Rackhir (Mar 13, 2009)

Desert Hare said:


> I adore the concept of mecha.




Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory has some great mecha, terrific soundtrack and a fairly good plot (goes kinda into lala land in the last ep though).

Gundam ZZ you might want to track down fan subs for. The first half of the series is not very interesting slapstick, but the second half is much better and the last 5 episodes pulls out an array of cool mecha the likes of which has never been seen before or after.

Char's Counter Attack is great for mecha as well. The end of this is the very definition of Crowning Moment of Awesome

Evangelion is pretty blah, from a mecha standpoint.

Code Geas : Lelouch of the Rebelion (now playing on Cartoon Network at an ungodly hour of the morning on sundays. Thank the gods for TiVo) has some great mecha and Xanatos Gambits like you wouldn't believe.

It's also on the old side, but Armored Trooper Votoms, is the only series with mecha I've ever found even vaguely plausible.

If you have any interest in the models/toys/figures.

www.HLJ.com (Hobby Link Japan) is a great source. Not inexpensive, but an unrivaled selection and more reasonable than most local stores for stuff.


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## TwinBahamut (Mar 13, 2009)

Sir Osis of Liver said:


> Chrono crusade
> Junni Kokki, the twelve kingdoms
> and Outlaw star
> are all worth checking out too.



I can't believe I forgot to mention _The Twelve Kingdoms_... That one is certainly not sci-fi, but it is an incredibly good series.



			
				Desert Hare said:
			
		

> I adore the concept of mecha. Steampunk is one of my favorite concepts as well.



Well, that is good to know.  I am something of an obsessive mecha fanboy, so it would be rather hard for me to make good suggestions if you didn't like the genre.



			
				frankthedm said:
			
		

> Maybe Escaflowne, perhaps Aquarion.



_Escaflowne_ is indeed good, even with some of its oddities. 

_Aquarion_, on the other hand, is something I would only really recommend to dedicated fans of the Super Robot genre. It is a series that tends to force what little character growth you see, has fairly uninspired action, and has some really annoying plot revelations and events near the end. There are indeed several aspects of it that are fun and likable, but the series is simply too pretentious for its own good. Overall, I would rate this as a second-tier entry in the genre, rather than something first-class.

If you want a Super Robot show, I would recommend both _RahXephon_ (if you want something lyrical and philosophical) and _GaoGaiGar_ (if you want a carefree and hot-blooded old-school show) over _Aquarion_.

Back to the topic of the more "Real Robot" side of the mecha genre, I would recommend the anime _Zegapain_. It has a great story and some of the best characters I have ever seen in a mecha anime.

Also, I definitely recommend the series _Eureka Seven_. I think you really need to have watched _Mobile Suit Gundam_ and _Zeta Gundam_ in order to really appreciate what the series is trying to do, but it is is absolutely brilliant and a joy to watch.


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## babomb (Mar 13, 2009)

Krug said:


> [Monster] had so much potential, but it dragged way too long, and kinda sputtered out in the end, like so many other anime series. Nonetheless there were some great episodes in there.




A fair criticism. It was a bit longer than it really needed to be. Overall, I still thought it was very good.


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## Pbartender (Mar 13, 2009)

Desert Hare said:


> Non-stop action, hard core sci-fi/soft fantasy, romance/love interest and lots of drama.




I'll echo Cowboy Beebop.

Also take a look at Fruits Basket.



Desert Hare said:


> Movies made by Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli are distributed in the US by Disney, and have pretty good dubs. They're also among the best anime there is. They tend to be very character-centric, rather than plot-centric. Some of these movies are:
> Princess Mononoke
> Howl's Moving Castle
> Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
> ...




Don't forget Porco Rosso, Kiki's Delivery Sevice, My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Whispers of the Heart, and The Cat Returns.


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## Sir Osis of Liver (Mar 13, 2009)

Also the full metal panic! series are great, although i haven't seen all of the second raid. This one has a lot of elements, a little mecha, humor, action, espionage. It's worth seeing.

Also read or die, is very good. The original three parter more so then the tv series.


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## Cergorach (Mar 13, 2009)

Wow! Don't you folks watch any recent anime, a lot of what's mentioned is many years old, some as old as a decade plus (that doesn't mention it isn't good) ;-)

Personally I watch a lot of different genres anime, it kind of depends on my mood. If I was you I wouldn't rule out any anime, just try something, if it doesn't jife with you you can always watch something else. The only real advice I can give you is watch it with the original japanese language track and use subtitles, dubs are the most horrible invention ever (thanks to the darned germans ;-), it can really ruin a fun/good anime.

Some thing I haven't seen mentioned before:
- Initial-D (street racers)
- One Piece (fantasy good guy pirates)
- Hajime no Ippo (boxing, a new series has recently started, but watch it from the beginning)
- Major (baseball)
- Prince of Tennis (tennis)
- Capeta (cart racing)
- Black Lagoon (badass smugglers in the oceanic region)
- Deathnote (serialkiller kid gifted with grim reaper powers)
- All the 'Tenchi' series and movies (terran kid gets into space...)

I've watched a few hundred series/movies over the last decade, maybe some where better then others, but they amused me at the time. When I watch a series more then once, I REALLY like it. I believe I've watched Initial-D a few times over the last couple of years, and seen Hajime no Ippo twice.

A note on series such as Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, these series run for 200+ episodes and tend to be based on mangas (comics). Initially these have a decent tempo (I have the feeling that a lot happens), but eventually the anime catches up to the manga and the anime slows down. A story line that previously was spread over 5 episodes is suddenly spread over 10-20 episodes. That's the reason I stopped watching Naruto after ~250 episodes (but it slowed down long before that), Bleach after ~150, and One Piece after ~350. One Piece I now watch in batches of 10 episodes when I feel an urge, might pick up Naruto en Bleach again to (and watch a 100+ episodes in one go). You might want to try the first couple of dozen episodes of each series...


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## qstor (Jul 17, 2009)

I just saw the trailor for Shigurui. It looked pretty good. Afro Samurai is something else worth watching. Although if you're watching with young kids its a bit bloody.

Mike


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## StreamOfTheSky (Jul 17, 2009)

I saw Code Geass a month ago, it was incredible.  Also, you can watch the entire first season, dubbed or subbed*, and in HD (at least by youtube standards) on youtube legitimately!  Bandai enterainment was cool enough to put that up AND season 1 of Gundam 00.  code Geass takes place in an alternate reality where Britain crushed the American Revolution and ended up moving thre after Napolean defeated the monarchy in England.  It takes place in the "near future" time-wise, with Britannia the most powerful nation on earth and having just conquered Japan 7 years ago, where most of the series takes place.  Just for a quick plot summary.

I just really enjoyed so many aspects of the show.  Many great characters, strong plot, lots of intrigue and between episode cliff-hangers, etc.. The main character really stands out.  He gains the power of geass, which works sort of like the D&D spell geas.  He can by making eye contact force the person(s) to obey whatever command he issues to the best of their ability.  It also has a lot of limitations, which he figures out as he goes along.  Aside from that, he's a chess-whiz with staggering intellect, which (IMO) accomplishes more for him than his "super power" as he tries to take on Britannia.  He's also physically weak, so it's also nice to see a hero that's kinda the opposite of Conan and such, winning purely with his wits.


Forgot if I mentioned it in my posts prior, but I've seen the first 2 episodes of Gankutsuo: The Count of Monte Cristo, and it's stunning.  I look forward to seeing the rest of it soon, I'll save any real analysis till after I see more.  I will say it's just...different.  Especially the art style, which I could see some people hating, but I loved it.

*EDIT: Should mention I've seen sub and dub, and I think the dub is at least as good if not better.  I also hate reading subtitles if I don't have to, though.   I really liked the voice actor for the main character in the dub; it's the same guy who does Vash's English voice in Trigun, another anime I found to be great dubbed.


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## JediSoth (Jul 17, 2009)

Most of the stuff I would recommend has already been mentioned (and I'm, by no means, an expert), so I'll just expound on something FranktheDM touched on:

Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040
This was the second series. I tried to watch the first one, but something about it seemed "off' compared to the second one (probably the animation, plus it sort of reeked of the 80s). If you can find the second one, it has a pretty good dub and a nice, intricate story that gets wrapped up by the end of the series (I think it's about 28 episodes). It features strong young woman in powered armor fighting maniacal mutant robots, a technological singularity, and some great music. Some of the more annoying tropes are kept to a minimum (like the head icons depicting emotions; I only recall one instance of that in the entire series). There's good character development and not a whole lot of silliness.


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## Oni (Jul 17, 2009)

I'll make a couple recommendations that I don't believe have been mentioned yet.  So here are my thoughts, with a little cut and past from Wikipedia mixed in. 

Now and Then, Here and There:  It follows a young boy named Shuzo "Shu" Matsutani who, in an attempt to save an unknown girl, is transported to another world (heavily implied to be the far future of the Earth, shortly before its destruction). The world is desolate and militarized, and water is a scarce commodity.  Now that might sound like a bit of cliche set up but this anime is unusually gritty and the end product is something wholly different than what I've come to expect out of most anime.  I will warn you that it is brutal, not so much in what is depicted as what is implied, dealing as it does with child soldiers and the horrors of war.  At only 13 episodes it's a good watch without a huge investment of time.  

Blood: The Last Vampire:  Part horror, part action.  It's not terribly deep on plot, but still a good watch.  It's a movie so the time investment is small, and it's oh so prettily animated.  The story is set in the American Yokota Air Base located in post-WWII Japan, a few months before the beginning of the Vietnam War. Its main protagonist is a girl named Saya, who hunts hematophagous bat-like creatures called chiropterans for a secret organization known as the Red Shield.

Now a few comments on what's already mentioned.  

Ninja Scroll:  The first anime I ever bought along with Ghost in the Shell (excellent by the way) on the same day.  It's a classic and a favorite of mine, but it's not very deep.  It's like the Arnold movie of anime, just screaming action from start to finish without much else, but oh what glorious fun action it is.  I have to warn though it contains a couple of explicit scenes that some people may not be comfortable with.  

Wicked City: It's alright, it's pretty dark and there is some cool actions scene and the like, it's definitely got that old school hardcore action vibe that I associate with 80's anime.  But really the only reason I'm mentioning it is because it was recommended and I feel it only fair to warn that it slips into outright pornography at times.  This is not a movie I normally recommend especially to people new to anime for fear of it turning them off of it.  

Full Metal Alchemist:  I love this anime, it slips comfortably back and forth from a lighter  humorous side to darker themes.  This is one of the very few anime I think is actually stronger than it source material.  The manga is good, but the anime just flat out does some things better though they do diverge a fair bit.  

One Piece: It starts ok, but I haven't meet anyone that's watched the Nami/Arlong arc and not fallen in love with the show.  That is a fair ways in, and its quite a lot of episodes now.  A lot of animation is cheap and the filler can be meh.  Still I recommend it, it just oozes ridiculous amounts of imagination.  However I recommend the manga more, it is oh so good and one of my absolute favorites.  

Cowboy Bebop: If you've somehow managed to avoid this one with the amount it has been aired over the last few year, do yourself a favor and watch it.  

Witch Hunter Robin:  I really like it because of the tone of the show, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it just starting out.  The animation quality is at the low end of the spectrum, the pacing can be glacial, and the ending was slightly disappointing.  Like I said I like it, but I think I would only recommend it if it suits your particular genre interest. 

Samurai Champloo: Slightly ridiculous and totally awesome.  Watch it.  

FLCL: Fantastically weird and Fantastically animated, and short.  

Bleach:  There are so many better recommendations here, I wouldn't bother.  It's a bog standard, drawn out fighting anime.  The genre has stronger offerings IMHO (like YuYu Hakusho).  


If you're getting in anime, maybe I could suggest you check out some manga as well.  A huge amount of anime started as manga, and most it was better and a lot less time consuming to read than watch.  

Some manga recommendations: One Piece, Berserk*, Lone Wolf & Cub*, Full Metal Alchemist, Fairy Tail, Hellsing, and if you like horror anything by Junji Ito*.  

*Once again, warning for graphic content.


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## Deset Gled (Jul 17, 2009)

JediSoth said:


> Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040
> This was the second series. I tried to watch the first one, but something about it seemed "off' compared to the second one (probably the animation, plus it sort of reeked of the 80s)...




Realizing that we're still giving anime recommendations to a banned alt, I still couldn't leave this comment hanging.

The original Bubblegum crisis is one of my favorite examples of great 80s animation.  I love the hand drawn style.  The dark and gritty feel is practically perfect.  I prefer it 100 times over to the new computer aided, depthless stuff that you see today.  Comparing BGC to BGC 2040 is, to me, one of the greatest examples of how animation has gone downhill.  YMMV.

Also, the mecha in BGC2040 have high heels.


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## StreamOfTheSky (Jul 17, 2009)

Yeah, I LIKE the 80s! 

Also, Konya wa Hurricane is a great song, while as the 2040 song, Y'Know, I can't stand.

Pretty sure FLCL and Ninja Scroll were mentioned and seconded, but I've seen both, so may as well second them, since they're both good.  FLCL might require rewatching to understand.  On the other hand, I enjoyed it the most when I didn't understand it, and with each subsequent re-viewing, find I understand it a little more and enjoy it a little less.  Which isn't to say the plot or anything is bad.  It just...works better as a mind .


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