Japanese anime/music
polycounter lvl 11
What are some good anime's to watch? I'm mostly interested in Japanese stuff, and that doesn't have an obscene amount of nudity/sex.
Also if anyone knows of some good music that would be awesome. I don't care about the genre.
Also if anyone knows of some good music that would be awesome. I don't care about the genre.
Replies
-Neon Genesis Evangelion (first serious anime I watched, major brainfuck in the end)
-Cowboy Bebop (this one and the next one have ridiculous names but in my opinion that is just to filter people. Those who mock it don't really derserve it. Both incredible, awesome soundtracks.)
-Samurai Champloo
-Serial Experiments Lain (interesting one about technology and the internet)
-Ghost in the Shell (probaby you've heard of this. Now it spawns three movies, two tv shows and at least 3 mangas. The second movie is great.)
-Boogiepop Phantom (The best part about this is the way the story is told)
-Death Note (I fell in love with this one in the manga but the anime does it justice.)
Pick a couple and enjoy!
That's my biggest gripe about anime, Japanese humor. I swear, Japan would put the Three Stooges in Schindler's List if they could! That's why I totally dispise Full Metal Alchemist.
Although I do love FLCL because it's completely wacky and full of (intentional) phallic symbols
FLCL
Samurai Champloo
Neon Genesis Evangelion
s-CRY-ed
Utawarerumono (fantasy)
Claymore (dark fantasy)
Noir (watch one episode a day or a week to get the best results, otherwise the film style is very boring) (underworld action)
Full Metal Panic (sci fi action comedy)
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu (comedy)
Full Metal Panic The Second Raid (sci fi action)
Azumanga Daioh (slice of life comedy)
Read or Die (3 part OAV and 26 episode tv series) (marvel comic-ish action)
Record of Lodoss War (OAV and 26 episode tv series, considered a 90s classic) (D&D fantasy)
Macross Plus (transforming fighter jet awesomeness)
Ah! My Goddess (2 26 episode seasons) (romantic comedy)
That's a pretty wide array of titles I've enjoyed in the past few years. I'll probably watch just about anything to give it a chance.
As for music, anything by Yoko Kanno will be good, she's composed for a ton of different vocalists.
I watch all what i like ^^
kenji kawai compose great Ost musics. The gundam 00 ost is great!
I really enjoyed the following series.
GAntz - You're dead, now play the game or you die again. Fucked up matrix like show.
Full Metal Panic - Good combat, relationships, solid show.
Zipang - Japanese navel ship warps back in WWII time, Tip toeing around to not change the future.
Welcome to the NHK - Anti social Shut-ins vs. the real world.
Girls Bravo- Sexy humor 1 guy many girls, blond rich guy is my hero of all time.
Deathnote- I never thought a pencil and paper weapon and great story could be so badass.
GoldenBoy- 1 dude makes many impressions on women as he travels japan getting odd jobs.
PlanetES- Astronaugts in space, junk collectors, relationships, humor
Moonlight mile - Another great astronaugt show, more serious, great main character.
Gankutsuo Count of monte Christo - Love the art style and textures, based on the old story with a sci-fi twist.
LAst Exile - Great epic story, visuals. reminds me of a FF6 world.
Anime;
BECK - all about a boy joining a band, some angst and highschool doubts but handled really well.
Nana - a more girly equivilant to beck, still about music and stuff but with a more feminine perspective.
5cm Per Second - Probably one of the best looking films around, bar none - Proof;
http://jzzyvu.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/5cm20-20large2001.jpg
http://00avalon.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/crossroads.jpg
His and Her circumstances - probably one of the best lovecomedy/drama romance series about, not to be judged by its cover as it gets really deep, worth following up with the manga - yes i love girly series.
Jin Roh - War/alternate history film with plot twists and other stuffs
Mindgame - Very interesting film, crazy animation and story with trippy visuals to boot.
Dead Leaves and Trava Fist Planet - Short OVA's done by the guy who did the running man short in the animatrix (well, him and other animators from Gainax) Crazy storys and wicked animation.
I watch and read way too much japanese stuff, I could talk this shit for hours
oh, and if you can tolerate the jabber that could possibly get you lost, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
You could probably catch dubbed versions of a couple of these on american TV I think.
No way I intend these to be superior picks over others, but they're there, and I liked them. YMMV.
-Neon Genesis Evangelion
-LAst Exile
-Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
-Serial Experiments Lain
-Full Metal Alchemist
I love:
-The legend of Esclafone
-Record of Lodoss War
-Berzerk (maybe more sex/violence than you are looking for, but has a cool story)
-Ghost in the Shell (pretty much everything, but especially SAC vol. 2)
-Cowboy Bebop
-Samurai Champloo
I liked:
-His and Her circumstances
-Naruto (except the filler episodes, and in their orginal, non cartoon network version. Only
starts to get good after ep. 30)
-Paprika
-Ergo Proxy
-Gun Grave
So many more I can't recall. Thanks for the list guys, I will check out some of these.
seirei no moribito - mediveal action/drama with a little fantasy.
Rurouni Kenshin Reminiscence - a sad samurai story.
and some of those already mentioned.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is perhaps the most famous example of this phenomenon. It is a good anime, with an interesting and compelling story, and solid character development. The animation is very good, the visual design is unique, everything seems great for about three quarters of the series.
And then at the end, everything goes straight down the tubes. It gets so bad, that they eventually released a movie for the series to end it differently. And though that ending is better, its still a mess.
Another good series that comes apart in its finale is Rahxephon. Rahxephon is actually very similar to Neon Genesis in many respects. Rahxephon is a more modern series, and the visual design and animation reflect this. Also, a lot of the characters are more likeable and not as psychologically traumatized as the ones in Neon Genesis.
Cowboy Bebop is my personal recommendation. It is quite possibly the best-written anime I have ever seen. (and I've seen me a few) They re-released it recently in a very affordable DVD set, so getting a copy from your local retailer will be cheap and easy. Cowboy Bebop is notable for having one of the absolutely best endings ever in an anime. The ending is very satisfying, both thematically and dramatically. It is very consistent with the development of the characters involved. And perhaps most importantly, it doesn't futz around with trying to leave anything open for a sequel. The story ends... definitively.
Another common plague on anime is filler. Filler is extra episodes inserted into a series' storyline that have little to do with the overarching plot. Many anime series handle filler very poorly. This is especially true of the longer series. This usually results from the need to "pad" a long-running series that was originally a manga. The manga's schedule tends to be a bit more inconsistent than an anime series, and if the anime comes out faster, they have to come up with extra content to fill in the extra time. (many mangas are only updated monthly, while anime is usually released weekly)
Cowboy Bebop avoids the plague of filler by fully embracing it. The overarching plot of Cowboy Bebop takes a back seat, and only shows up in a small number of episodes. The majority of Cowboy Bebop is self-contained micro stories. These are well-written, entertaining, and all contribute to developing the main characters. Most Cowboy Bebop episodes can be watched and enjoyed by themselves, with knowing little to nothing about the rest of the series.
@Steviant - Thanks for the music recommendations! Its so hard to find good Japanese music, at least for me, so I'm really excited to listen to your choices.
I was just assuming that he was referring to TV series, not feature-length films.
As far as those go, ANYTHING from Studio Ghibli is worth seeing. If it says Studio Ghibli or Miyazaki on it, then it will probably be a cut above in terms of quality. KiKi's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Naussica and the Valley of the Wind, The Castle in the Clouds, Howl's Moving Castle, the Castle of Cogliostro....
...hmmm, it just occured to me that Studio Ghibli definitely has a thing for castles.
Other good feature length choices...
Akira (mild nudity and lots of violence)
Ghost in the Shell (full-on nudity and cyborg violence)
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (surprisingly enough, no nudity or sex, and only minimal violence, lots of dramatic tension)
... Oh, and...
GACKT!! My absolute favourite musician. I love his stuff.
L'arc~en~ciel are really awesome as well as Hyde's solo stuff.
Dir en Grey has a lot of good songs and a lot of WTF stuff.
Do As Infinity
The Pillows
Anime: ALL of these are UNCUT Japanese. Most English subs/translations are utter trash even with good voice actors.
Cardcaptor Sakura (DO NOT WATCH THE ENGLISH)
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Naruto (except the filler)
Witch Hunter Robin (probably the ONLY anime where the dub is near perfect)
Serial Experiments Lain
Tenchi Muyo, Tenchi Universe, Tenchi in Tokyo, (I'll throw Tenchi Muyo:GXP in there too but it's more of a side story)
Anything from Studio Ghibli
Hellsing
Hellsing Ultimate
Trigun
Sailor Moon (YES, uncut Japanese is great, especially Stars which was not released in the US)
Azumanga Daioh most adorable and funny anime I've ever seen. NEVER fails to put a smile on my face.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (not Koro ni Kai, that's the second series) horro/thriller
FLCL
Haibane Renmei
Angelic Layer
Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers (aka Ronin Warriors)
Haven't seen it but make sure that if you watch Melancholy of Suzamiya Haruhi that you watch in BROADCAST order not the numeric order.
Yes, yes...a thousand times...YES! I've always been a bit of a snob when it comes to voice acting. Bad voice acting puts my teeth on edge. And most anime series have some of the worst voice acting in the history of the profession. It is very rare for me to encounter an anime series that has English dubbing that I'm willing to endure.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. (seasons one and two) This is the TV release of the Ghost in the Shell franchise, and it has some of the best English voice acting I've ever heard in an anime.
There have been a lot of great suggestions so far. I'd like to throw in one more...
Slayers.
Slayers is a very humorous spoof of the fantasy genre. It turns popular fantasy cliches on their head, and never fails to entertain. The characters are delightfully over-the-top. There are three seasons available, and a fourth is currently being released in Japan. This series has also gotten a recent re-release on DVD in a very affordable boxset. One of the elements that I love most about this series is the portrayal of the central character. She is a girl in her mid-teens. But rather than being portrayed as appealing or sexualized, she is constantly being mocked for her savage, belligerent nature and her skinny, underdeveloped figure. She is the antithesis of the fantasy genre female protagonist.
Bebop has to have some of my favorite characters ever in it, they know how to pull the heartstrings or maybe im just a soppy bastard.
Neon genesis is plagued with theories on its ending but afaik the series went down the pan thanks to the budget - the Film End of Evangelion is how it was meant to conclude and if youve got the directors cut then you see the Asuka fight in the end as a preview to episode 25.
Still, i love the series more for its angst, as much of a dick as shinji is i really like him and i like how it progresses and slowly shit really just hits the fan.
ghost in the shell
middle parts of naruto (rock lee!)
macross saga
bleach (again, it picks up paces after the first 10 or so episodes, and you start getting used to those damn eyes. has some really awesome fights)
full metal alchemist
ninja scroll (sick stuff. loved it)
good ones
neon genesis evangelion
cowboy bebop(haven't watched all the episodes though.)
full metal panic
shakugan no shana.
IMO, all anime start off with their legs in syrup.
in japan though, its all about the journey, not where its headed.
so to me, it doesn't matter if it starts off bad, or ends bad, as long as it was fun inbetween.
Naruto - watched up to the filler and a few of those. read all the manga.
Bleach - only saw up to episode 50something of the anime. read all the manga. (quit showing off everyone's Bankai and get on with the story!)
Death Note - only saw the first couple episodes. read up to volume 9 of 12-13 of the manga.
Witch Hunter Robin
Full Metal Alchemist - be sure to watch the movie too!
Neon Genesis Evangelion
FLCL
s-Cry-ed -- to a lesser extent.
I never got into Cowboy Bebop or Ghost in the Shell. :poly122:
Perfect Blue - I don't believe there's any nudity but the main character, an actress, end up having to play a rape scene on her tv show and that kind of made me squirm watching it with a bunch of non-anime watchers.
Paprika - trippy movie
is it too cliche to say "watch these with your whole family"?
Millennium Actress
Tokyo Godfathers
Anything by Studio Ghilbi is amazing and fun. (Even though I really hate Disney's hands all over the dvd commentary and making of videos)
Grave of the Fireflies is very depressing but still amazing. It made me feel personally responsible for the fire bombings of Japan. T_T
Princess Mononoke a friend the first 10 minutes of Mononoke to a class full of non-anime watchers and everyone was dying for more.
Paprika is awesome and trippy.
Tekkonkinkreet
Wolf's Rain ended up being very awesome even though I first wrote it off as being 'furry'.
- akira
- ghost in the shell
- flcl
- evangelion
studio ghibli ftw. their next one looks insanely gorgeous.
Yep, mentioned Naruto in my first post.
Really fun show. I love all the different character personalities. I have up to volume 31 of the manga and all 9 released boxed sets of the anime.
The first major story arc (Zabuza/Haku) is one of my faves. Very sad and emotional.
Yeah.. if you can't tell by my avatar, Shikamaru is my favourite character.
Yeah...
I buy them because I hate the show so much........
I forgot to mention Scrapped Princess as one of my favorites.
Generally I find anything over 26 episodes a risk to filler, even at 26 episodes, there can be 4-6 episodes of filler in the 2nd half.
I'm finding more and more these days that better series now come in 13 episodes, there's absolutely no filler since they know they don't have much time to wrap everything up.
sirknight - Hajime no Ippo is a 75~ episode series that works without any filler and the manga is at about 800chapters and still realllly gripping.
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=producer&prid=11 - I consider the things by him to be far prettier than anything by ghibli... at least in terms of attention to detail.
Bakuman. New series by the guys behind Death Note. Completely different in tone, two high school kids decide to create a manga together. It's only just started as well.
Beck. It's been mentioned as an anime already, but the songs and singers didn't live up to what I had in my head. The last couple of translations should be out soon too.
Blame! Worth it just for the art.
Bleach. It's good, but it's been really stretched out and the author has a nasty habit of starting an interesting fight then ignoring it to focus on something else.
Death Note. Very good series, but the second half is a let down.
Eyeshield 21. American football. Even if you're not a fan of the sport, it's definitely worth reading.
Fullmetal Alchemist. Anime has been recommended but they diverge early on.
Gantz. Another one that's still going after the anime. The fights seem to drag on, but that might be more of an issue of reading the issues as they come out every other week though.
Genshiken. Slice of life comedy series about a group of otakus.
Grappler Baki. Long running MMA series, good but suffers from power creep, there's always someone more powerful after Baki kicks the shit out of the last guy. The main villain still stands at the top, thankfully.
Hajime no Ippo. Like Jack said, still gripping.
My Balls. Guy gets Demon Queen trapped inside his balls. He can't come for a month or the earth will be destroyed. Wacky and perverted hijinks ensue.
Naruto. Not as good as it has been, mostly because it all revolves around Sasuke and his emo ways now.
Rookies. Baseball series about a new teacher turning the baseball club round after they became delinquents.
Shamo. Kid snaps and kills his parents, gets sent to juvenile prison, gets taught karate to protect himself and becomes an underground fighter. Bit creepy at times.
Tough. Like Baki but less weird people having strange definitely-not-super-powers.
Vagabond. Based on the life of Miyamoto Musashi and by Takehiko Inoue. Always looks amazing, especially the watercolour pages he does from time to time.
Yotsuba&! By the same guy who did Azumanga Dioh, very funny but it's only updated monthly.
20th Century Boys, Monster and Pluto. All three are by Naoki Urasawa and they deserve their own section.
20th Century Boys is about a group of friends who find out that the games they played as kids are coming true and they're the only ones who can stop it.
Monster is about a surgeon who saves the life of a boy who grows up to become a killer and the surgeons attempts to stop him.
Pluto is based on Astro Boy but told in Naoki's own style. Follows a robot detective hunting down a killer of robots and humans.
I couldn't get into the art, so I never picked that one up. But my experience with long shows has been along the long drawn out line. (HA I made a pun)
Anyways, I just sat down to watch Seirei no Moribito this weekend.
This show is amazing. NO FILLER in 26 episodes, each episode either tells story or builds character. The animation quality and production quality stays VERY high through the entire show. And cause I'm a softie, I had a few tear jerk moments. I really enjoyed this show, I'm going to have to say it's in my top 10.
Yes, yes, I agree, it's one of my very favs as well.
Hmm, let me think... anything else that hasn't been mentioned...
Well, I could mention a whole lot of stuff, but I'll keep my girly love of Shojo manga to myself
Oh, but if you're an animal lover at all, Petshop of Horrors is an amazing manga.
I'll also second (or thirt, forth, whatever...) Death Note, cause I just read it recently and it's just so amazing
If I come up with more I'll add to this already awesome and extensive list
p.s. I abosultely love Hayao Miyazaki movies, but I do have to say that I think some are really better than others. My favs are: Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, and Spirited Away. But I'd say they're all worth seeing at least once.