# Anime for Beginners



## ddvmor (Aug 26, 2004)

Ok, so I saw Akira and Ghost in the Machine years ago, and more recently I've seen Metropolis which was also pretty good.  But I've never really got into Anime big-time because there seems to be an awful lot of pornographic elements to it - and it's hard to tell from the covers which ones are gonna be good and which are just T*t-flicks (not that I particularly object to seeing a bit of flesh, but I like a decent plot, too...).  Can anyone recommend some good stuff for me to watch?


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## Laurel (Aug 26, 2004)

Not sure if this is what you are looking for and it is kind of lengthy, but the R_ecord of Lodoss War_ IMO is awesome. 
I tend to recommend this one a lot, and so far everyone has seemed to enjoy it.


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## Derren (Aug 26, 2004)

Depending on how serious you want it try Cowboy Bebop (serie about some bounty hunters in the future) and Trigun (Less serious the most time. Serie about the life of a gunslinger in a western like desert world)

I reccomend both.


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## jarlaxlecq (Aug 26, 2004)

I agree with Cowboy and to a lesser degree Trigun. I'd also add Ninja Scroll to the list. Macross Plus is good too. Neo Genesis Evangelian is good too (though that ones is a love it or hate it kind of show)


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## jarlaxlecq (Aug 26, 2004)

I agree with Cowboy and to a lesser degree Trigun. I'd also add Ninja Scroll to the list. Macross Plus is good too. Neo Genesis Evangelian is good too (though that ones is a love it or hate it kind of show)


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## SubMensa (Aug 26, 2004)

It sounds like you have watched some serious anime in the past. What I've come to realize is that in Japan anime has the same range as TV does here in the states. There is alot of comedy out there as well. My recommendation is to frequent your local video rental place as they sometimes have the more popular titles in stock.

My personal recommendations are:

Trigun  -  Comedy/Drama. A mixture of comedy and cowboys on a far off planet. Alot of social undertones regarding pacifism.

Cowboy Bebop  -  Action. Bounty hunters in space! Another one of my favorites, unfortunately I'm too poor to go out and buy the DVD boxed set to see the episodes I've missed.

Ranma 1/2  -  Romantic comedy. Cursed to turn into a beautiful girl whenever he gets wet, Ranma returns to japan to find out that his father has arranged a marriage for him to a girl he doesn't get along with. One of the longest running anime out there with multiple Seasons worth of episodes and several movies.

Tenchi Muyo  -  Romantic comedy. Tenchi awakens a female demon who wants to kill him in a cave nearby. After that open several women enter Tenchi's life. A royal princess, a galactic policewoman, and Washoo the galaxy's foremost genius.

Neon Genesis Evangelion  -  Action/Drama. 15 years after a global disaster that killed half of the world's population Shinji is called by his father to pilot the one thing that stands between mankind and total destruction.

EDIT; almost forgot, you can check out seried synopsis here http://www.animeinfo.org/quickieg.html


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## Benben (Aug 26, 2004)

jarlaxlecq said:
			
		

> I'd also add Ninja Scroll to the list.



There's some hardcore sexual elements to Ninja Scroll.  It's certainly not hentai, and one of my favorite animes, but the original poster gave some misgivings about the pornographic elements of some anime.

Anyway here are some more great anime:

The comple works of Hiyao Miyazaki: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and many more.  These can be watched with family, or dates, or just about anybody.  His studio has done others, many others, and they're all great.

Grave of the Fireflies:  Watch this when you start to think that anime is swords, panty shots, big robots, and Tokyo exploding.  It's a stark, serious view of life in Japan during World War II.

Samurai X the OVA collection is also splendid.


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## Dark Jezter (Aug 26, 2004)

Welcome to the world of anime, ddymor.  Just as with any other medium, there's good anime out there, and really bad anime out there.

My recommendations...

*Record of Lodoss War:*  This anime has a very D&Dish feel to as, and it should considering that it's based on the creator's D&D campaign he ran while in high school.  Lots of fun, especially if you're a fan of fantasy RPGs.  The characters tend to adhere to classic D&D archaetypes (such as the dwarf fighter and the wisecracking thief), but are memorable nonetheless.  And, even though I don't usually drool over anime girls, I can say with complete honesty that Pirotess, the evil dark elf woman, is one of the sexist female character designs I've ever seen. 

*Cowboy Bebop:*  This series is just plain fantastic.  It's a space opera that combines elements from noir and 1970s blaxploitation films, with memorable characters and an absolutely fantastic soundtrack.  Truly a must-see!

*Tenchi Muyo:*  A rather strange series where a Japanese high school student awakens a demoness (who looks like a beautiful woman, of course) from a cave near his home, which sets into motion a chain of events that results in him sharing a house with several woman from across the galaxy.  Despite the strange premise, the series manages to remain enjoyable due to the memorable characters and great comedic moments.  13 episodes were produced for this series back in the early 1990s, and only recently the series has started up again.  However, I reccomend that you stick with the original 13 episodes, because the new episodes are disappointing and fail to capture what made the original episodes so special.

*Berserk:*  I haven't seen this series all the way through yet, but what I have seen was absolutely awesome.  This is another series set in a fantasy medieval Europe-type setting, but it's a very dark and violent series (I've heard it described as Record of Lodoss War meets Conan the Barbarian).   The series revolves around a guy named Gatts, a mercenary swordsman who is a muscle-bound, scarred, ugly lump of a man (a big departure from the effeminate pretty-boy heroes found in many other anime series) and his adventures in a brutal, war-torn world.  I hope to see the rest of the series soon.

I'm going to go against the above poster, however, and recommend _against_ Neon Genesis Evangelion; I decided to watch that series just to see what all the hubub was about, and found it to be pretentious, confusing, and self-indulgent.  You couldn't pay me to watch it again.


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## jarlaxlecq (Aug 26, 2004)

ouch how'd i forget Princess Mononoke, Also comes HIGHLY recommended


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## reanjr (Aug 26, 2004)

ddvmor said:
			
		

> Ok, so I saw Akira and Ghost in the Machine years ago, and more recently I've seen Metropolis which was also pretty good.  But I've never really got into Anime big-time because there seems to be an awful lot of pornographic elements to it - and it's hard to tell from the covers which ones are gonna be good and which are just T*t-flicks (not that I particularly object to seeing a bit of flesh, but I like a decent plot, too...).  Can anyone recommend some good stuff for me to watch?




I generally dislike anime.  So you can take me recommending an anime as either very useful or completely useless.  But the following are great: Record of Lodoss War, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion.  Especially Cowboy Bebop.  Record of Lodoss War is straight-up D&D.  Suffered from poor production in some of the later episodes, though.


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## Dark Jezter (Aug 26, 2004)

Here are some anime movies (not series) that are recommended...

*Princess Mononoke:*  Truly a masterpiece of animation.  Beautiful design, and a unique concept make this one of the most memorable animated films of all time.

*Spirited Away:*  The first time I saw this movie, I didn't think I'd like it.  Boy, was I wrong!  This movie is strange, but at the same time manages to be very, very cool.  Of course, what did you expect from the same guy who made Princess Mononoke?

*Ninja Scroll:*  Rent this movie and see why ninjas are the Real Ultimate Power!  Not a classic like the other two I mentioned, but still a fun action movie with boatloads of gory violence and a cool main character.


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## Elemental (Aug 26, 2004)

Series' I liked, and why:

_Hellsing_: A secret paramilitary organisation that has battled vampires for centuries, has to contend against a wave of artificially created undead, with the aid of Alucard (think about it), an ancient and fearsomely powerful true vampire. It's slick, and very cartoony-violent, and also has something of a gun fetish, but it's _fun_ at the same time, with an interesting unfolding plot and memorably weird characters. Only strike against it is the low ratio of episodes per DVD disc.

_Excel Saga_: You might want to watch some other anime before this as it is first and foremost, a merciless piss-take of other genres. The plot, such as it is, revolves around a hyperactive teenage girl (Excel), who works for an organisation called ACROSS, with vague goals of overthrowing corrupt modern government, but that's really just a framing device for parodies of other genres, including horror, survival alien invasion, and sports drama. I found the first episode confusing and not especially funny, but everything after that is pure gold.

I've seen some of _Berserk_, and really liked it (it has some great battle scenes), but be warned that the ending, which I've not seen, pisses quite a lot of other fans off.

Second for _Trigun_. It's a mix of sci-fi and Western, focusing around a mysterious wandering gunman who's acquired a reputation as a walking disaster area and death incarnate when he's actually a nice guy, and a pacifist to boot. It's good for the start, though the goofiness might be a bit offputting, it's worth sticking with--a few episodes in, the tone becomes a little more serious, the sci-fi elements are expanded on, and we start finding out about the backstory, and I found it incredible.

_Evangelion_ really is a love it or hate it show--it has a massively intricate backstory, and you have to do a lot of conjecture to put it together. There are also two endings, both of which are loved and hated in equal measure. Some great giant robot battles though.

_Read or Die_: Supposedly a series, but more like a feature film broken up into three parts, this is about a nerdy, mild-mannered librarian, who happens to have incredible paper-related powers, who works with her partner (who can become intangible) for a international librarians task force, to combat cloned historical geniuses with incredible steampunk technology, called the I-Jin. It's as quirky as it sounds, but it I found it _wonderful_. Also, for the price-conscious you only need to buy one DVD.


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## Haradim (Aug 26, 2004)

Elemental said:
			
		

> _Read or Die_: Supposedly a series, but more like a feature film broken up into three parts, this is about a nerdy, mild-mannered librarian, who happens to have incredible paper-related powers, who works with her partner (who can become intangible) for a international librarians task force, to combat cloned historical geniuses with incredible steampunk technology, called the I-Jin. It's as quirky as it sounds, but it I found it _wonderful_. Also, for the price-conscious you only need to buy one DVD.




There is also a TV series (26 episodes I believe) that occurs a number of years in the future (with a manga series in between the two). Mostly a different cast though. I know the first DVD is available on this side of the ocean, and the second might be as well.

I'll throw my vote in for Vision of Escaflowne (TV series). Something along the lines of drama/medieval mecha/action/romance. An Earth girl ends up on the world of Gaia, a seemingly invisible world not far from Earth, that is on the brink of war. A powerful empire seeks to unlock an ancient and forbidden power, but she and the prince she accompanies throw their predictions and plans off; the prince with his ancient mecha and lineage, and the girl with her ability to see the future and locate the deceptive enemies that come for them. Has nice artwork, no particularly annoying characters, entertaining action scenes, romance and bloodshed, and cool villains 

Another show I've been enjoying is X (TV), a rather dark drama/action show about the end of the world. I haven't had a chance to watch all of it though.

If you are feeling adventurous, you might also try FLCL. It's an action/chaos kind of show, only 6 episodes long, but with memorable (and strange) characters and situations. Mixes humor and oddity with full-out action. The plot isn't too bad, either, if kinda compressed and hard to get ahold of. You definitely need to be paying attention, though, because there is a fairly high speed to this hold series.

That's my input anyway


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## Derren (Aug 26, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> Here are some anime movies (not series) that are recommended...
> 
> *Princess Mononoke:*  Truly a masterpiece of animation.  Beautiful design, and a unique concept make this one of the most memorable animated films of all time.




And screening tomorrow in german TV


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## Velenne (Aug 26, 2004)

I'll also throw in my votes for Cowboy Bebop, Ninja Scroll, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Berserk, Trigun, Record of Lodoss War, and Read or Die, in that order. 

I'm also a fan of _Scrapped Princess_ and _Full Metal Panic_.


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## Smokingmonkee (Aug 26, 2004)

A few others I enjoy are

Now and Then, Here and There
Big O
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Robotech
Witch Hunter Robin
GTO
Full Metal Panic
Inu Yasha
Full Metal Alchemist
Noir
Serial Experiment Lain
Kenshin
Bastard


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## atra2 (Aug 27, 2004)

I know the purists will scream at me, but consider Robotech (at least the first series, though the other two are cool too) and an oldie but goodie: Star Blazers.

Oh, on Ranma, a few (3 or less) of the very early episodes mix in comedy scenes at the shower, with some brief nudity, as the other characters learn that for Ranma, hot water = stay boy or return to boy form, and cold water = stay girl or return to girl form. The producers quickly leave the "naked 3 stooges humor" behind, and the next zillion episodes don't use that comedy device, or at least provide convenient scenery.

Ranma is well-written, though be cautious about showing anyone the first 6 episodes. It's kinda sad, because the first few episodes explain the story, but you can't exactly show a 10-year old them, even though the majority of 70+ episodes have no such situations. Again, not porn, just 3-stooges female nudity.

Record of Lodoss war is indeed good, though keep in mind most people are referring to the 2-dvd set original to video, not the 4-dvd set that is ~24 episodes of a tv series done to treat the 2nd dvd of the first set correctly. (IE, they started running low on money, so had to compress 24 eps each 22min into 1 DVD, so the 2-dvd set is missing some story elements, things are compressed, etc. However, the TV series had poorer animation, so it's ok if you skip the 4-dvd set ($90 at amazon) in favor of the 2-dvd set (<$40) and you won't even know what you were missing.

Here's another hint: cartoon network shows some anime (dragonball z and stuff) during the daylight hours, but some stuff (a bit more adult, but not nudity/sex stuff) late at night, like midnight. Just look in your tv guide, and the series titles will tell you by their airtime what's more adult, what's more kiddie, or at least safe.

Sadly, Anime on DVD has no ratings system here, though stuff that would be NC-17 is at least set aside in a "mature" section. Still, at suncoast movies and other dvd stores, anime with serious gore is alphabetized right along with pokemon and dragonball Z.

I suggest you find people in your city who are big anime fans, take them down to a suncoast or indy anime dealer, and have them grab the first 5-10 dvds they see that aren't skinfests, and show you the top 2 or 3 based on quality and your genre interests.

This is the equivalent of having an "anime librarian." Librarians become far more useful
when the bookstores don't helpfully separate things by genre, though you can miss
out on a lot of genre-mixing authors that way. (Many of Isaac Asimov's sci-fi books
are more properly detective stories set in the future, and really belong in the Mystery
section, for example.)


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## Tsyr (Aug 27, 2004)

A few others that have yet to be mentioned, but which I would suggest:

Crest of the Stars, and the later series Banner of the Stars (I think htose are they titles they got released over here as). Not a comedy at all... Its a very good, serious space drama type show, with some interesting philosophical questions behind it too.  Very low key. Its about the people, the places, and the events... Its not a sci-fi special-effects shebang. If your expecting wild space dogfights and laser-gun-fights, you arent going to get a whole lot of it here. But its very good.

Last Exile: An odd, pseduo-mystical, pseudo-WWI/WWII tech-level setting, of a shattered world of floating islands and giant airships. Its got a nice military feel too it in places, and in others, its a nice drama/adventure story. I think this is (or was) showing on TechTV for a while too, if you wanted to try to catch it that way.

Vampire Princess Miyu. The OAVs, particularly. A little disturbing for the wrong age groups maybe, but its an interesting mystery, low-key horror (Its just the concepts sometimes that are pretty sad and horrible when you think about them, not that its shock, or splatterpunk), drama type show. 

Captain Herlock. Hard to give a summary, but its a space action/drama thats pretty good. A bit of comedy here and there. And its got Space Pirates!


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## ddvmor (Aug 27, 2004)

Wow!  Got a lot of replies there.  Thanks guys.

Common themes seem to be Cowboy Bebop, Trigun and Princess Mononoke (which I note has Neil Gaiman in the credits - did I read somewhere that he did the translation or something?), so I'll start with them and work down the (now extensive) list!  I think I'll visit the video shop this weekend (since its a bank holiday over here in the UK).

I remember catching an episode or two of Escaflowne on one of the cartoon channels (I don't remember which one) a year or so ago - I was reasonably impressed, although utterly lost plot-wise!


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## JoeGKushner (Aug 27, 2004)

Always glad to see another person checking out the anime. One thing to keep in mind is that if you'rei ntrigued by the anime, check out the manga. In some cases like Berserk and Hellsing, the manga is much better and provides a lot of details that are missing from the anime due to time constraints.

Some of my own faves include:

Berserk: Still one of my favorites. A serious sword and sorcery style anime that doesn't rely on ninja and samuaria.

Heroic Chronicles/Lodoss War: Not quite as series but good nonthless.

Outlaw Star: A bit corny but I like the characters and the fact that they aren't perfect. It reminds me of a shinier version of Cowboy Bebop.

Cowboy Bebop: Great stuff here all around. Good characters and background, great music.

Big O: Loved it except for that last episode. Giant Robots and a guy whose like Brurce Wayne with an Alfred that kickcs butt! The manga once again goes into a bit more detail here than the anime.

There are others. I like Escaflowne because it's got power armor in a fantasy setting. Tough stuff there. Like Ninja Scroll. Like Ghost in the Shell. So many options! I'm glad that DVD has been good to anime. In the past it was kinda of difficult to get ahold of anime but that's changed big time!


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## Flexor the Mighty! (Aug 27, 2004)

Anime I've found I like, and I don't like a lot of the themes and art styles of anime all that much.  Was bored to death by Spirited Away if that tells you anything. 

Akira - Great animation, cool story, but get the manga volumes as well they are much better!

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - Great, great animation. Love this one.  Didn't care that much for the first movie. 

Ghost In The Shell - Great animation and effects, but like Akira the manga is better. 

Tri-Gun - Funny, and suprisingly deep.  Vash the Stampede is a great character. 

Cowboy Bebop the Movie - Liked it quite a bit, good animation and a cool action packed storyline.


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## jarlaxlecq (Aug 27, 2004)

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - Another great movie i forgot about


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## ddvmor (Aug 27, 2004)

I actually already have books 1-5 of Akira (I got book one when they released it in COLOUR about 100 years ago!).  At £20+ per volume though, they're a bit pricey.  I may have to drop hints and wait until Christmas to find out how it all ends!
I also have Domu in trade paperback form.  Excellent stuff.
I spotted the Ghost in the Shell 2 comic on the shelves in my local comic shop, but the series was half way through and they could get hold of back issues.  I've never seen the first series as a collection.


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## Flexor the Mighty! (Aug 27, 2004)

I've got the first series as a TPB.  Dark Horse put it out I think.


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## WayneLigon (Aug 27, 2004)

*L-R: Licensed by Royalty.* Two men who work for a faux-British Secret Service. The first two episodes should be taken by someone and made into a live-action movie.
*Witch Hunter Robin.* People with various psionic talents are hunted down and dealt with by a mysterious agency. 
*Get-Backers.* Two youths pledge to get your stuff back for you, no matter what it is, no matter who has it, or why.
*Descendants of Darkness.* Two ghostly investigators who work for the Summons Division of the Court of the Dead deal with spirits, demons, and an insane mortal sorcerer.
*The 12 Kingdoms.* A young woman is taken from our world to be a queen in a pre-industrial world ruled by gods, spirits, and royalty chosen by the ki-rin.


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## Stormfalcon (Aug 29, 2004)

Flexor the Mighty! said:
			
		

> Ghost In The Shell - Great animation and effects, but like Akira the manga is better.




You may want to check out the TV series, GitS: Stand Alone Complex.  While it follows an original storyline and tends to set up it's own continuity, it's much closer in tone to the original manga, and it includes the Tachikoma this time (called Fuchikoma in SAC).  It can be confusing at first, since some episodes are their own stories (the "Stand Alone" episodes) and others follow a continuing storie (the "Complex" episodes).  Both types of episodes are quite enjoyable, and the series does have enough time to spend on some of the other characters.  Even Old Man Aramaki gets some development and action for himself.


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## Flexor the Mighty! (Aug 30, 2004)

Stormfalcon said:
			
		

> You may want to check out the TV series, GitS: Stand Alone Complex.  While it follows an original storyline and tends to set up it's own continuity, it's much closer in tone to the original manga, and it includes the Tachikoma this time (called Fuchikoma in SAC).  It can be confusing at first, since some episodes are their own stories (the "Stand Alone" episodes) and others follow a continuing storie (the "Complex" episodes).  Both types of episodes are quite enjoyable, and the series does have enough time to spend on some of the other characters.  Even Old Man Aramaki gets some development and action for himself.



 What channel is it on or is it DVD? I think I saw something in the DVD section of Best Buy about it but I may be confused.


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## Aaron L (Aug 30, 2004)

Tenchi Muyo is my personal favorite. (The OVAs, NOT the TV shows.)

Hellsing is awesome.

Cowboy Bebop is just COOL.


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## Darth K'Trava (Sep 1, 2004)

Anime I've liked. I've gone for the more comedy-oriented series.

Rune Soldier: quite the D&D feel to it.

Ranma: funny. Great series

Those Who Hunt Elves: Great and funny. Only one brief nude scene in the second or third episode. 

Most anime nudity isn't detailed like a porno movie, genetalia is vague.

Trigun: Cool series.

There's probably others I can't think of now...


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## Arnwyn (Sep 1, 2004)

Some of my favorites:

- Macross Plus
- Cowboy Bebop, including the movie
- Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex (only 1 DVD out so far, though)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion, including the movie "End of Evangelion"
- Wolf's Rain (only 2 DVDs out so far)
- Princess Mononoke
- Spirited Away
- Vision of Escaflowne
- Record of Lodoss War (OAVs); Record of Lodoss War (TV)
- El Hazard
- Tenchi Muyo (especially the TV series and first movie)
- Ranma
- Slayers
- Trigun


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## Tanager (Sep 2, 2004)

Okay, I don't claim to know much about Anime. But judging by those you've already seen I have to recomend Jin-Rô, in my limited experienc of Anime this one ranks right up at the top with the classics such asAkira and Ghost in the Shell.


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## DarkSoldier (Sep 2, 2004)

Macross Plus: the Motion Picture - Excellent character piece wrapped inside a mecha-action flick. Three friends have drifted apart, but a fighter project brings them together to confront their demons.

Mobile Suit Gundam (Universal Century series) - Political drama wrapped inside a mecha-action flick. You never know who the good guys are, because both the Earth Federation and Zeon commit terrible acts against each other.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - _Extremely_ cerebral character-based drama wrapped inside a mecha-action flick.

Sensing a trend here?

Record of Lodoss War - Classic fantasy anime with one of the best bad guys of all time and one of the weeniest heroes of all time.

Slayers - Slapstick comedy in a fantasy world.

Project A-Ko - Even more slapstick comedy in a sci-fi world.

Prefectural Earth Defense Force - Rapid-fire barrage of humour. It does not let up. Some semblance of plot, but you'll miss it while trying to breathe.

Dragon Half - Fantasy equivalent of Prefectural EDF.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Based on Hirohiko Araki's manga of the same name; pretty good, but based entirely on Series 3 Volume 20 until the end of Series 3, skipping a few parts on the way.


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## Nuclear Platypus (Sep 3, 2004)

Lessee. I'll have to add another for Cowboy Bebop (love the music especially), Record of Lodoss Wars and Ghost in the Shell. Tenchi Muyo is another fave especially little Washuuuuuuu! *ahem*

Got in late on Wolf's Rain but still liked it, especially since its by the same guy(s) that did Bebop. 

Another on Adult Swim for some reason is Case Closed for those who like to solve mysteries. Not quite as cheesy as a Scooby Doo mystery. If the Mystery Machine breaks down that often, get a new one! Basically a teenager gets 'youthenized' to a 6 yr kid (side effect of an assassination attempt) who still solves mysteries while trying to figure out who his assassins were.

Wish Cartoon Network would bring back their 'Saturday Samurai Hour' with Samurai Jack (play those last 4 episodes!) and Ruroni Kenshin. Sure Jack isn't anime but Kenshin was.

Too bad its only like 6 episodes because I was especially fond of Ushio and Tora tho the original voices, especially Tora's, sound better than the dubbed. 

Bubblegum Crisis was pretty good tho haven't seen the 'sequel'.

Miyazaki is a must! My Neighbor Totoro reminded me of Allice in Wonderland while the Castle of Cagliostro could probably beat the stuffings out of most of Hollywood's attempts and it was made back in the late 70's.


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## Stormfalcon (Sep 3, 2004)

Flexor the Mighty! said:
			
		

> What channel is it on or is it DVD? I think I saw something in the DVD section of Best Buy about it but I may be confused.




Sorry for not getting back to this sooner.  The first volume is out on DVD, and it is slated to be shown on Cartoon Network in the near future.  If you are planning on getting it on DVD, I'd think twice (if not thrice) if you ever consider getting the LE version (2nd disc with DTS soundtracks, plus a Soundtrack CD), since there are reports of the bonus items being defective.  The regular edition is just fine, however.


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## JediSoth (Sep 3, 2004)

_Castle in the Sky_ is another good one by Miyazaki. It has kind of a pulp, sky-pirates feel about it, plus the bad guy in the English dub is done by Mark Hamill! I also enjoyed _Kiki's Delivery Service_, though it tends to be a little more kid-oriented than the rest. But it was good enough to get a reference in Fiery Dragon's AU adventure _Plague of Dreams_.

 JediSoth


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## Arnwyn (Sep 3, 2004)

Stormfalcon said:
			
		

> If you are planning on getting it on DVD, I'd think twice (if not thrice) if you ever consider getting the LE version (2nd disc with DTS soundtracks, plus a Soundtrack CD), since there are reports of the bonus items being defective.



Well, there's only a minor problem with the soundtrack, actually. It combines two tracks into one, and splits one track into two. Not much of a big deal.

If you like GITS, I'd recommend the LE, by far. The DTS disc is fantastic.


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## Stormfalcon (Sep 6, 2004)

arnwyn said:
			
		

> If you like GITS, I'd recommend the LE, by far. The DTS disc is fantastic.




If you prefer dubs, the DTS disc would be servicable, yes.  If you prefer the original Japanese track, then the DTS is defective and not worth the extra money.  Essentially, the left-rear channel is hosed on the Japanese track, barely outputing at all.  If I'm buying a DTS disc, I want all 5.1 (or more if spec'ed) channels.  This thread at www.animeondvd.com details the problems involved.  No replacements have been announced as of yet, though Bandai is saying that one is forthcoming once they nail down the problem with the Japanese track.  How much longer that'll be is anyone's guess.


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## Derren (Sep 6, 2004)

No vote for .hack//sign yet? Awwwww.


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## Brandigan (Sep 6, 2004)

Last Exile is one of my personal favorites, I think it was only mentioned once so far.


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## Nightfall (Sep 6, 2004)

Alright well I'm going to be different here and suggest something a tad more recent. Two new animes that have become my favorites:

Elfen Lied (it's actually German folks in terms of the title and the opening uses Latin. Which is always cool for me). If you like to see a soft hearted girl with horns cut loose with psionic abilities that would make the STNJ of WHR fame piss in their boots. Yeah it's got some nudity but it's got a god for real plot, some interesting characters AND the backgrounds/sounds are sweet.

Samurai Champloo. If you love Cowboy Bebop, this is SO for you. Sure it's in Edo Era Japan but it's got some funny stuff, some great lines, great characters, etc. Oh yeah and the rapping is nice too.  Trust me, watch the first ep. If you're not hooked by then, then you have no taste. 

I do know that both are licensed but not sure when they are to be released here in the US. Elfen Lied is based of the manga (comic) by the same name. However no idea which is better as I've only see fan subs of anime. 

But these are for me great anime. (Not that Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke aren't either but just saying.)


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## Arnwyn (Sep 7, 2004)

Gah. Multiple post.


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## Arnwyn (Sep 7, 2004)

Stormfalcon said:
			
		

> If you prefer dubs, the DTS disc would be servicable, yes.  If you prefer the original Japanese track, then the DTS is defective and not worth the extra money.



Ah. Yeah, that is a problem. Thankfully, I prefer dubs.


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