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[Ikrik]

It also has none of the charm or humor that Miyazaki is known for.  It's pretty damn depressing.  Ghibli does a very good job with the animation (usually I hate Ghibli) But yeah, it's definitely something that should be recommended.

[itsrabid]

Although Studio Ghibli did the animation production for Grave of the Fireflies, Hayao Miyazaki was not the director, nor did he write the script or screenplay, nor is he credited as a producer.  To the extent it can be said that a film is "by" a single person, Grave of the Fireflies is not "by" Hayao Miyazaki.

Sorry for the mistake.

It also has none of the charm or humor that Miyazaki is known for.  It's pretty damn depressing.  Ghibli does a very good job with the animation (usually I hate Ghibli) But yeah, it's definitely something that should be recommended.

Just because it is dismal and gloomy doesn't mean that it isn't great. It's extremely sad, yes, but it was very well done.


On another note:
Stay away from Naruto, it is stupid and full of fail. The dubs are cheesy, and so is the plot and script.

[Ikrik]

Although Studio Ghibli did the animation production for Grave of the Fireflies, Hayao Miyazaki was not the director, nor did he write the script or screenplay, nor is he credited as a producer.  To the extent it can be said that a film is "by" a single person, Grave of the Fireflies is not "by" Hayao Miyazaki.

Sorry for the mistake.

It also has none of the charm or humor that Miyazaki is known for.  It's pretty damn depressing.  Ghibli does a very good job with the animation (usually I hate Ghibli) But yeah, it's definitely something that should be recommended.

Just because it is dismal and gloomy doesn't mean that it isn't great. It's extremely sad, yes, but it was very well done.


On another note:
Stay away from Naruto, it is stupid and full of fail. The dubs are cheesy, and so is the plot and script.

Look at what I said?  It's VERY depressing and should not be at be said in the same sentence as Miyazaki.  A lot of the time people mistake a director the movie has a very similar feel to the directors work.  So someone might have seen "oh... Grave of the Fireflies, oh it's not Miyazaki..." but since Miyazaki was mentioned they might have thought that GotF feels like a Miyazaki piece.  I do think it's great, and I do recommend it.

And if you decide to watch Naruto....watch it in Japanese....and keep it to yourself.  By all means enjoy it (I know I did) but don't tell people how much you like it.

[Seigea]

Have you guys seen Lupin III Castle of Cagliostro? It was a Miyazaki before Studio Ghibli. Way good.

[MusicScribbles]

So, what's the opinion on Ghost Stories, the 20 episode comedy/horror series? My library has very recently started stocking a surprising amount of anime that I have never heard of before, or that I've heard the name of but never bothered to look up.
So, the entire show of Ghost Stories is available now and I'm guessing not leaving the shelf any time soon. My card can take three DVD's and right now I have out Zodiac, Ikiru, and that sexy special edition of Brazil.
So, is Ghost Stories worth the library check out next time? Or should I just pick up Sunshine, Veronica Mars Season 1, and a random Criterion Collection DVD?

[CardinalFang]

If it's the Ghost Stories with the ADV dub then I've seen it.
I believe there was some controversy with the ADV dub since they ignored the original script and went with their own.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Stories_(anime)
I didn't know this when I first watched and I was a little confused. However once I got used to it I did find it funny and I would recommend you see it once. Especially if you're just checking it out of the library and not paying for it. I don't think it's the kind of series that bears repeated watching.

[MusicScribbles]

I just checked it out yesterday, and it is the ADV dub.
This series is, considering that the script is different than the original, quite funny and enjoyable.
If there was ever a time where you wanted dearly for someone to make those annoying children in kids' anime shows say something dirty or completely askew from what they should be saying, then this is a silly series. (As long as you watch it with the ADV English dub.)
So, yeah, some of the episodes are pretty great, and some a little more meh than others. This is definitely worth checking out of the library though, so I may be enjoying this series more due to that. If it's available online I recommend watching at least the first two episodes.
Anyway, Ghost Stories, yeah!

[angel14995]

If no one has mentioned it, try Death Note. Set in modern day Japan about a guy who can kill on demand. The series isn't fully finished in anime form (we're on like episode 34 or 35 of 40), but you could finish it off with reading the manga.

I'm trying to finish Full Metal Alchemist, but it takes a while.

Again, FLCL is needed.

[Gridgm]

firstly...and i hate to say this...do a quick read of the thread before you post in it

back to the responce to said post...i assume you're talking about the english dub of death note then as the subbed version has been out for about a year now, personally i thought it was entierly too contrived...it reminded me more of passions than anything else, possibly the wosrt thing you'll ever see in your life but you're drawn into watching it just to see how bad it will actually get

at the moment i'm watching persona: trinty soul considering it's based on a video game i'm amazed as to the quality it's actually ended up with

[jimbunny]

Someone mentioned Narutaru a while back. I'm going out of my way to strongly recommend avoiding this show. Not so much because it isn't a very good show (which it isn't) as the fact that I felt like my humanity was being sucked out with a straw at the end of it. And there wasn't any point to it. It was horrible.

Basically, it's a cute kids' show. Until they all start getting massacred.

[Gridgm]

i recomend you have a little look at what you're getting yourself into before you start watching a show, and narutaru itself won't actually suck your soul out as much as trying to watch naruto

point two that theme song is awesome

point three at least you didn't accidently start watching moetan like i did becasue when someone recomended that show there wasn't a wikipedia article on it yet

[jimbunny]

Fair enough. Still.

[Ludovician]

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu

The question mark is intentional, and the serious series that bookend it provide far less necessary viewing. Don't let the title throw you. It's not particularly esoteric and hyper-japanese or anything, it's just honestly one of the funniest television shows I've ever seen. Sagara is a military man, born and raised, and he's assigned to protect a girl named Chidori - they're both high school age, so they attend school together. Sounds like breeding ground for every cliche imaginable, and it is ... but the show recognizes this and turns up the melodrama to devastating and ironic lengths, with the added twist of a main character who's incapable of approaching any situation, however mundane, from a non-military thought process.

I also consider myself partisan of the pro-FLCL cause.

[MadassAlex]

FMP?F is fantastic. I love the art teacher. He's fantastic, and the kind of art teacher I always wanted and never got.

[CardinalFang]

I concur. FMP?F is excellent.
I saw it without having seen FMP! so I didn't understand some of the references. Namely Captain Tessa and the sub.
I still thought FMP?F was hilarious though. When I got a chance to see FMP! I didn't like it nearly as much. As a matter of fact I didn't even watch all the episodes.
I recently started rewatching FMP?F and I was laughing out loud at the scene where they've dragged Sousuke out of the pool and Captain Tessa was rationalizing the need to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. "It's what you have to do!!!"

Currently I'm looking through the list of Noteworthy Anime at TvTropes and I'm going to attempt to see all the ones that sound interesting. It might take awhile.



apparently I enjoy typing FMP?F alot.

[Gridgm]

I concur. FMP?F is excellent.
I saw it without having seen FMP! so I didn't understand some of the references. Namely Captain Tessa and the sub.
I still thought FMP?F was hilarious though. When I got a chance to see FMP! I didn't like it nearly as much. As a matter of fact I didn't even watch all the episodes.
I recently started rewatching FMP?F and I was laughing out loud at the scene where they've dragged Sousuke out of the pool and Captain Tessa was rationalizing the need to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. "It's what you have to do!!!"

Currently I'm looking through the list of Noteworthy Anime at TvTropes and I'm going to attempt to see all the ones that sound interesting. It might take awhile.



apparently I enjoy typing FMP?F alot.

wow...that lsit is horrible...but then again i have a bias against shounen...something to do with me actually likeing to think

[CardinalFang]

wow...that lsit is horrible...but then again i have a bias against shounen...something to do with me actually likeing to think

I'm glad you like to think. Bravo. Well done. I'm sure your mother is proud.

Not everything on that list is something I'm going to watch. I mean Neon Genesis Evangelion? Please.
The list is a handy thing to scan looking for something I might like though. Case in point I just watched the first couple of episodes of Magical☆Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. I really like it so far.

[Calaveth]

I just saw the first episode of the new Hidimari Sketch, given the subtitle x365. Fucking brilliant little slice-of-life show. Quirky, funny, intelligent. Great animation (for a show that wouldn't really need it). Highly recommended, even if you haven't seen the original anime, x365 looks quite able to stand on its own.

[Ikrik]

That "Noteworthy Anime" list is absolutely horrendous.  I mean I like Ah! My Goddess but................noteworthy? I think not.  And I saw Yu-Gi-Oh in there too.....definitely not something I would recommend to anyone.  Pretty sure when I scrolled through it I saw Street Fighter.....and I can ONLY HOPE that I was mistaken.

[CardinalFang]

Please note that it says Noteworthy not Recommended. As a matter of fact they explain themselves right at the top of the page.

The following series and OVAs are significant because they provide good examples of given anime tropes, or because at least one of our contributors enjoyed them thoroughly. For a list of "core" shows which can be used as a basic introduction to the medium, see Essential Anime. Many are adapted from Manga.

Again, I am using the list as a convenient list of anime. I can easily go down the list and read the synopsis and then decide whether or not I want to check it out.

Take a look at their list of "Essential" anime and see what you think. I doubt that there's any list that would satisfy everyone. Goodness knows I don't agree with the "essential" list.   

[Ikrik]

The ONLY thing I agree with of that of that Essential Anime list is Evangelion (I didn't look at the movies, I mean come on, they're movies)  I saw AMG on there AGAIN.  I also noticed that I saw Azumanga Diaoh.  I love that show, every time someone mentions it I can't help but chuckling because it holds a special place in my anime heart.  However I would never throw the tag of "essential" onto it...it's fun but it's not.....essential.  I'd throw Gankutsuou up in that list for having a completely revolutionary art style AND still having a great story. 

[De_El]

Dude are you kidding? I read the list it is pretty much and an A-OK beginner's guide to anime, if you don't really know what the whole "anime" thing is about.

[Gridgm]

my opinion is the last thing we need is more midless narutards and that lsit seems to be gearing people in that direction

[jimbunny]

At the moment, I'm feeling like people would be fine just watching FLCL, and Kino's Journey.

Everything else would be icing on the cake. And a fair bit of styrofoam. And a roomful of styrofoam scraps.

[Ikrik]

Kino's Journey........wow that was incredible.  It's absolutely incredible and honestly it's SO underrated it hurts.  That list really does seem to push the mediocre "feel-good" thoughtless anime.  The anime recommended by that site isn't.....bad...but it's only something I'd recommend to someone who's seen stuff that can show the depth of what anime can be.  I think that Kemonozume is definitely something that people should watch more, the art-style is completely different from anything I've ever seen before and the dude who did it made another thing called Mind Game which was equally if not more awesome. We don't need more Narutards, whoever came up with that name deserves a medal, but the thing I want EVEN LESS than Narutards are the people who think they're better than Narutards because they watch Bleach.....those people are way more annoying.

[Jackie Blue]

I seriously hate this thread now.

[ThePQ4]

That "Noteworthy Anime" list is absolutely horrendous.  I mean I like Ah! My Goddess but................noteworthy? I think not.  And I saw Yu-Gi-Oh in there too.....definitely not something I would recommend to anyone.  Pretty sure when I scrolled through it I saw Street Fighter.....and I can ONLY HOPE that I was mistaken.

...I don't think you can really call that a "noteworthy list" at all. A "noteworthy" list is like...ten, maybe twenty tops. That listed just about every anime that had been even mildly popular in the last 10 years or so (Okay, so I am exaggerating, but still...). It didn't seem like there was any kind of standard either.

In other news, I just finished watching Lucky Star --which was really cute. It ist plot driven or anything so it's kind of easy-going. I managed to watch the whole thing all of the way through without getting frustrated/annoyed with the characters.

I am also 26 episodes into Inuyasha which I am, scarily enough, enjoying. I am waiting for the remainder of the series to download.

I also started watching Kimikiss Pure Rogue again, which is cute but after 16 episodes or so I'm just like, "Aaaah, shut up and just get together already, you're pissing me off!" ...It's very frustrating and I'm sick of the love triangles.

[CardinalFang]

<sigh>

Please note that it says Noteworthy not Recommended. As a matter of fact they explain themselves right at the top of the page.

The following series and OVAs are significant because they provide good examples of given anime tropes, or because at least one of our contributors enjoyed them thoroughly. For a list of "core" shows which can be used as a basic introduction to the medium, see Essential Anime. Many are adapted from Manga.

Again, I am using the list as a convenient list of anime. I can easily go down the list and read the synopsis and then decide whether or not I want to check it out.

Take a look at their list of "Essential" anime and see what you think. I doubt that there's any list that would satisfy everyone. Goodness knows I don't agree with the "essential" list.   

And because it didn't seem to"take" the first time:

The following series and OVAs are significant because they provide good examples of given anime tropes, or because at least one of our contributors enjoyed them thoroughly.

Now, perhaps you don't feel they followed the standard but that's different than not having a standard.

In other news, I finished watching Lucky Star recently and I thought it was pretty damn good.

[ThePQ4]

...because at least one of our contributors enjoyed them thoroughly.

Okay then to that, I have to ask how many contributors do they have? The list could see be deeply narrowed down by putting some better guidelines in place for assembly --like something only makes the list of 5+ contributors enjoyed it by a certain number of stars or something.
(Basically, we're saying this was a really bad list, okay?)

And yeah, Lucky Star -was- pretty damn good. I liked the different songs on the end credits (that guy made me crack up on the second half of the series. Hilariously adorable).

Edit: I was looking at TVTropes again, and I noticed this on the essential list:

This differs from Noteworthy Anime in that the only real rule for that section is "if it's mentioned somewhere in the wiki".

--I don't know what you want to take from that, but I thought it should be mentioned.

[CardinalFang]

Did you intentionally ignore the first part of that sentence?

Did you intentionally ignore the "I doubt that there's any list that would satisfy everyone. Goodness knows I don't agree with the "essential" list." part of my quote or do you actually think there is a list that would satisfy everyone?

Why is the list really bad? Are Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hotaru No Haka, Howls Moving Castle, and FLCL really that horrible or is that things like Naruto and Dragonball are sullying a list that includes them?

Could I possibly ask more questions?


Edit: Back to Lucky Star, Tsukasa trying to find her phone number on her new cell phone made me chuckle. Goodness knows I've never had trouble finding my phone number on my cell phone. Much.

[ThePQ4]

I'm not saying the list has to please everyone, but I just don't think they really did that much of an effort, and just compiled a list of all the anime they thought of off the top of their head.

(I didn't care much for their essential list either, but maybe I'm just picky).

Oh yeah, Tsukasa and her phone... Her obsession with texting was cute too --I loved how excited she was when she got to teach her Dad how to do it, hahaha.

[CardinalFang]

The list (Noteworthy) works perfectly for me because I can go down the list, read the descriptions and then decide whether or not I want to look into the show. The shear number and variety works in my favor I think.
Do you know of another list anywhere that may be better? (another question, what the hell? Wait, that's another question....DAMMIT)
Plus the list of anime tropes really did help me understand some of what I was seeing.




Full Disclosure: I liked Lucky Star so much that I ordered Volume 1 and 2 of the show. Not the deluxe versions though. I'm not THAT far gone.

[Gridgm]

I am also 26 episodes into Inuyasha which I am, scarily enough, enjoying. I am waiting for the remainder of the series to download.

unfortunatly at about htis point each fo teh characers decides to start declaring when ever they do a special moved...if you've watched long shounen series before you'll be aware of how annoying this is...seriously is there any need to announce you're opening up the wind tunnel

The list (Noteworthy) works perfectly for me because I can go down the list, read the descriptions and then decide whether or not I want to look into the show. The shear number and variety works in my favor I think.
Do you know of another list anywhere that may be better? (another question, what the hell? Wait, that's another question....DAMMIT)

http://myanimelist.net/topanime.php => anime sorted by average score given by users
http://myanimelist.net/favorites.php => anime sorted by number of users who have said it's they're favorite

also clicking on the title links provides you with a short synopsis, indetail user reviews, and anime that other users think is in a similar style for if you liked it

[ThePQ4]

Ooooh, I think after watching the entire series of Yu Yu Hakusho in nearly one sitting (breaks for class, and the such. Probably took me a good two weeks), or Card Captor Sakura, I can handle a little annoyance like that.

[Jackie Blue]

A "noteworthy" list is like...ten, maybe twenty tops

There are way more than twenty noteworthy animes, though granted most of them weren't on that list.

[CardinalFang]

http://myanimelist.net/topanime.php => anime sorted by average score given by users
http://myanimelist.net/favorites.php => anime sorted by number of users who have said it's they're favorite

also clicking on the title links provides you with a short synopsis, indetail user reviews, and anime that other users think is in a similar style for if you liked it

Thanks Gridgm!

[jimbunny]

We're bored. Start talking about actual shows again.

Haibane Renmei - worth my time?

[De_El]

Yes. The art is good, and the ideas are solid and intriguing.

[Ikrik]

Aria The Natural
Clannad
Code Geass
UFO Princess Valkyrie
Detective Academy

I'm downloading all of these right now after taking a 4-5 month haitus from actively watching.  Has anyone seen them and are they any good?

[ThePQ4]

Code Geass is the only one I've heard of...I think we watched it in Anime Club but it didn't really catch my interest so I don't remember much about it. I am obviously not too helpful.

[Jackie Blue]

I've only watched the first few episodes of UFO Princess Valkyrie but yes, it is very good.

[beat mouse]

everybody shut up and watch Paprika.

[MadassAlex]

I've started watching Trinity Blood. It's quite entertaining but it suffers from two distinct flaws that hit a lot of SRS BZNS anime

1. The humour and clumsinesses can be genuinely amusing and cute, but the instances feel very familiar and thrown in for the sake of completeness, like some kind of emotional fanservice.

2. Clearly, the studio that throws in the most pretension gets to bukakke The Greek God Athena for all eternity because it seems like a fucking competition at this point. Seriously fuck. If there's going to be pretension, at least make it the artsy-fartsy kind that makes me feel special inside, instead of the frankly quite boring dick-measuring contest that precedes every major conflict. You know, maybe that's one of the things I liked about the combat sequences in Evangelion: you can't communicate with aliens so they just took their giant robots and fucked them up quicksmart. There was lots of blood, explosions and brutal combat that reflected the process of tearing apart a giant demon quite well.
Another anime that had good combat sequences was Full Metal Alchemist. It was just fun to watch, and when the characters talked beforehand it was a genuine exchange of information relevant to the plot. And then a giant suit of armour and a small guy with metal limbs killed the bastard children of a parakeet's dick and an Abrams tank. Instead, we get pounded with productions that can never reach the level of sheer ridiculousness of Dragonball Z and probably shouldn't try because DBZ sucks dick. In summary:

- I hope Athena likes cum in her eyes
- Combat pretension is unimpressive, but philosophy still makes me feel like a superior dickwad so go with that
- Combat sequences that reflect actual physics and use clever choreography are always a plus
- DBZ really, really sucks but I love it


But yeah, that Trinity Blood anime seems to be a good watch so far. 

[Ikrik]

I've been avoiding Trinity Blood for a long time.  I saw it on a commercial for Razer television and I thought "yay, another white anime....that's JUST what we need."  At that time however I was convinced that Hellsing was the only vampire anime/manga that needed viewing. I might start downloading it, but then again I might just keep avoiding it.

Haven't we already had a discussion about Paprika?  Ok, it was good.....but it wasn't amazing and it most certainly didn't blow me away.  If you said something like "everyone shut up and watch Mind Game" which everyone should do because you'll never see anything else like it, then I would let it go.  Go watch The Place Promised In Our Early Days or 5cm Per Second.

[MadassAlex]

The Hellsing anime is fantastic but splits so far apart from the manga that it's not funny. The OVAs are the real required watch if you want the actual storyline. Or read the manga. Your call.

[Tom]

I really want to read Hellsing but Darkhorse doesn't want millions of people with a considerably reasonable understanding of the English language reading low resolution scans (including ones not yet released in tankōbon or translated into English for commercial distribution) that onemanga.com would pay a sum of money,from advertising space sold on the site, to them for it. The giant that is Viz Media doesn't really seem to care that their products are there on the internet and there is no way in hell that they don't know about.

[Ikrik]

I own up to volume 6 of the manga and the linework just bugs me, the dude is a messy drawer.  He used to/probably still does draw hentai magazines and I can totally see how it's influenced his drawing of females but I still just don't like Hellsing.  The Hellsing anime is meh for me, it felt way, WAY too short.  Honestly if they had taken the time to make a convincing storyline and follow through with it Hellsing would have made a splendid 24 episode series.  But then they decided to end it with a Dragonball Z fight that bored the hell out of me.  Plus Seras is cooler in the comic because she's not as much of a whiny little brat.

[jimbunny]

OK, saw Haibane Renmei and really enjoyed it. As with Kino's Journey, I thought the plot and characters were intelligently crafted and engaging enough; what really got me excited about both of these series, though, was the palpable sense of atmosphere that they managed to evoke. Great use of silence and stillness, ambiguity, and complex yet cohesive realities that dominate, unexplained, in the background. I love that. Can anyone recommend other shows that share a similar feel: subdued, intelligent, flowing, introspective? Preferably avoiding angst, complicated relationship subplots, and a lot of drama.

[Phaedra]

I must comment that I hate everyone who recommended Elfen Lied. Never getting those hours of my life back...

[ThePQ4]

Okay guys... I watched most of (like...all but two) FLCL...
Am I the only person in the world who wasn't blown away by it's brilliance or whatever?
Frankly, I liked the animation and the characters were cute, but as a whole...I thought it was kind of stupid. I don't even know why I watched more then two episodes of it...

I finally saw all of Full Metal Alchemist though. That was pretty darn good. And I watched all of Devil May Cry (great!).

Has anyone mentioned Black Blood Brothers yet? (I forget...). I've seen three or four episodes and I remember it being funny, but I haven't watched more of it yet. It's on my list.