Help me find a half decent anime!

Ginzue

Okay, well I've only really been into a few Animes, mostly stuff on Adult swim. The ones I have actually liked enough to watch entire series of are:

Cowboy Bebop
FLCL (My all time fav)
Death Note Anime (avid fan)


I'm also a huge Hayao Maizaki (sp?) fan, but I'm really just looking for a nice, adult, non huge-mega-funtime-balls-of-light-kill-fests....

Any ideas? Thanks!

Casual Eddy

I thought full metal alchemist was pretty good. And witch hunter robin. That's about all my anime experience though.

CangoFett

FMA i the only anime I've ever watched.


Uhm, totally hypothetical question here. Is it bad if someone cried during certain scenes of FMA? Like, 3 times? Not that I've done it. Just, yknow, wondering.

Janin

Gankutsuou - a re-telling of The Count of Monte Cristo, set in the future

Ghost in the Shell - futuristic detective agency does various things. The movies are more philosophical (what is humanity), the TV series tends more towards explosions.

Monster - drama/suspense, brain surgeon has to stop one of his patients from killing people

Neon Genesis Evangelion - the ultimate mindfuck, creepy and weird.

Pb

Gankutsuou is an excellent anime. It's fairly trippy in the visuals, but the adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo is decent, and the show is really gripping at times. If you're into giant mechs Rah Xephon and Evangelion are totally worth a look (I like the former more than the latter), and one that I liked that you might want to try renting is Texhnolyze. It's very strange and oddly paced, but for some reason it really drew me in.

EDIT - Definitely second Ghost in the Shell. The first movie and Stand Alone Complex (only seen the first gig) are excellent.

Seattle Thread

Castle of Cagliostro

Xenocide Geek

I second the first two GitS movies and the 1st GIG and the 2nd GIG. 2nd GIG isn't as good as the first, in my opinion, but still worth watching.

I'd also recommend Serial Experiments Lain - best anime I've seen.

Samurai Champloo, same guys as the Cowboy Bebop dudes. Not nearly as good, but still good.

Right now I'm watching Texhnolyze, and it seems pretty good, but I wouldn't give my thumbs up yet.

Um, I really enjoyed Elfen Lied, but it depressed me for several weeks, and it's extremely violent.

FMA is good too, but I've sorta grown outta it, so I don't really dig it anymore.

Ergo Proxy is interesting too, but I stopped watching because the animation annoyed me. Some people really like it, though.

Seattle Thread

Lain is totally weird and not like anything else, I second this.

Also, Castle of Cagliostro

Mabase

http://www.animeacademy.com/libgrade90.php
^this website's reviews fall in line with my own opinions, in most cases

ShimSham

I don't like much anime.

but this anime/manga called Berserk is one of my all time favorites. Only one season of the anime, a lot of manga.

Even though it's only 26 episodes, it's flat out great. Look into it.

What's her face

I'm also not really into anime but I really liked Trigun.

A-Rod

BERSERK

Panda4You

Paranoia Agent - David Lynch-ish drama with very engaging plot and characters, plus it's only 11 eps or so.

Valkun

Another one for Berserk, just remember that the first episode takes place after the end of the series and the anime runs for about the first twelvish volumes of the manga. The entire show is very serious and there's certainly an interesting slice of the human experience present.

Trigun is rather light hearted and comical except near the end of the series where it takes a bit more of a grim tone.

CangoFett wrote:

Uhm, totally hypothetical question here. Is it bad if someone cried during certain scenes of FMA? Like, 3 times? Not that I've done it. Just, yknow, wondering.

Unlike most western television, Japanese writers and producers are perfectly willing to keep a series to one or two seasons instead of trying to draw it out for years and years. This allows them to actually make emotional impact, especially the death of major characters, and to tell a coherent storyline. And unlike a movie, one has time to get to know and care for the characters presented in these stories.

Echo

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi is pretty damn great. Only 13 episodes too, though I hear rumors about a followup season.

meatflower

I found the first 12 episodes of Bleach to be really really good. Never watched anything past that though and I heard that it gets weird or something...so who knows.

Overlord

I really like the first like 30 episodes of Bleach. Im at 90 now, its good but its just lacking something the earlier ones had. But I've heard it gets better again.

Rook

Another nod for GitS though I'd recommend the series over the films. The first film is good, if a little old, the second film whilst pretty, is very souless imo.

Another great, and quite short anime is Serial Experiments: Lain. It's very very odd and complex but only 13 episodes long.

If you like cyber punk at all, then Cyber City OEDO is a classic 80's anime that does everything right and doesn't get mentioned enough.

The Patlabor films are pretty decent, (the second being better than the first, but the first sets up the characters), as is Perfect Blue, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Wings of Honneamise, Akira and NInja Scroll (the film, the series is atrociously bad). Some good OVAs are Macross Plus and Samurai X: Trust & Betrayel (the series isn't bad either).

A problem with a lot of anime series IMO is that they can never decide which direction they actually want to go in, so by the end you're watching a completely different series. And pretty much all of them have the exact same ending too which doesn't help.

Cantide

If you're looking for a serious show, I cannot recommend Now and Then, Here and There enough. The first episode starts out light, but after that it just gets darker and darker.

If you're looking for something weird, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni is what you'd get if you took a cheerful harem show and a grim horrow show and stuck them together. Very unsettling.

If you want comedy, Great Teacher Onizuka is considered hilarious by many.

If you want action, lots of people like Bleach. One Piece is also quite good.

Sir Red of the Manti

Fist of the North Star, preferably the original stuff. The series had a B-rated kung-fu flick feel to it, and featured hilarious fighting techniques mixed with fights to the death pretty much every episode.

Shadowfire

Cantide wrote: »

If you want comedy, Great Teacher Onizuka is considered hilarious by many.

:^:

Also, if you can get a hold of Slayers, it's good stuff. More the TV series than the OVAs.

Rurouni Kenshin is also good stuff.

For the love of all that is sane, stay away from Evangelion.

Dioltas

I second Samurai Champloo, Lain, Elfen Lied. RahXephon is also really good, it reminded me a lot of Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, my second favorite anime (after Cowboy Bebop) has got to be Hellsing. It's short, but it is awesome. Definitely won't regret watching it.

TehSpectre

Wolf's Rain is very good, if you like the emotional ones.

kdrudy

A lot of great recommendations in here. One I haven't seen mentioned that I really enjoy is Cromartie High School. Really super odd and at times disjointed show that is very funny.

trixtah

I'm going to second Bleach and One Piece. I also think that the FMA manga is so much better than the anime.

at CangoFett, yeah it totally means you're a bitch

Calebros

Bleach is an amazing series but I recommend you watch fansubs because the dub on cartoon network is atrocious.

Also don't start it unless you want to commit yourself to a long series (latest ep is 118 and was released a few days ago)

Deathnote is good, as is Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni is good but pretty twisted. Code Geass is good and is still running in japan, it's up to ep 20 so far.

Rabid_Llama

Love Hina was downright hilarious all the way through. That was my first subbed anime and it will always have a special place in my heart.

Hakkekage

I'm recommending by million times Gankutsuou. Watch it. Your eyes will adjust just in time for your mouth to fall open. Watch eet.

Also, though technically not anime, Avatar: The Last Airbender is hella awesome, even if it is a kid's show.

Pants Man

porco rosso, and you should all be ashamed that it took this long to get to it.

edit: to elaborate, it's pretty much the definition of a "nice, adult, non huge-mega-funtime-balls-of-light-kill-fest". WWI fighter ace wishes himself to be a pig, and then has crazy middle-aged seaplane pirate-hunting mercenary adventures in pre-facisism italy. it's miyazaki and it's amazing.

Incenjucar

Hellsing for action. I just watched episodes 4-9, and I am viciously angry my video store has no others.

Millennium Actress for beautiful quasi-historical drama (I almost cried)

Voices of a Distant Star for art (This made my chest hurt and my eyes mist)

A Wind Named Amnesia for ...like.. everything. The internet seems to suggest there is a remake. I know nothing of it. But the original is damned good.

SoonerMan

FMA all the way. Whoever said they cried a few times during it, I have to say that I did as well. It's just so awesome.

I heard there's a lot of differences between the anime and manga, but can't find a list of them.

PowerLlama

Grave of the Fireflies is an excellent anime movie.

Re: nholder

Rabid_Llama wrote: »

Love Hina was downright hilarious all the way through. That was my first subbed anime and it will always have a special place in my heart.

Second! Also, Tenchi Muyo! unedited isn't half bad. At least the first 15 episodes or so.

Trigun is my personal favorite.

Evangelion is great.

Can't say much else.

Rye

I'm not a fan of anime. I don't watch a movie simply because it has that "Japanese" look to it.

Having said that, I can fully recommend some animes because they are GOOD ENTERTAINMENT, anime or not. I'm not saying my opinion counts for any more than anyone else in this thread, but I'm throwing these out because they are wonderful entertainment, not simply because they fit the title of "anime".

Samurai Champloo
Ghost in the Shell (movies or tv series, it's all amazing)
Akira (The one that started it all in America)
Spriggan (same director as akira)
Excel Saga (Funny as hell. Makes fun of anime too)
Samurai X (Rouroni Kenshin OVAs - Much more adult and serious than the series. Also a lot quicker and jam packed full of goodness)
Green Legend Rand (Very odd one that very few people have seen. Reminds me of miyazaki)

Another BIG BIG vote for Avatar the last Airbender. It's one of the best tv shows in the anime style on the air now, imo. Wonderful writing and acting, good Korean animation.

Sliver

I've only seem about 50 animes so I'm a lightweight compared to my friends who have seen upwards of 200 and have a working knowledge of the japanese language. But I've seen enough to know that after you've seen all the popular crap, you have to start trudging through the unpopular crap. Not because you want to. You trudge through it because it's all that's left. But you WILL find obscure gems and you will take offence to the fact that they're rotting at the bottom of a bargain bin while the rest of the people in the store run around in DBZ T-Shirts buying naruto DVDs.

Memories is a good place to start.

EDIT: For comedy series. Full Metal Panic: Fummoffu is hilarious and you wont need to have seen the original show to get into it. Azumanga Daioh is another good one.

For serious animes, I have to second and third Berserk. VHD : Bloodlust and the Escaflowne Movie also get an honorable mention. (Disclaimer, anyone that has seen the Escaflowne series and liked it will have nothing but seething hate for the movie for deviating from the story. Everyone else will hate it because it's the Escaflowne movie. Watch it anyway. If you get past the fact that it's based on an anime that tries to be every genre at once, you can enjoy watching Vahn kick all kinds of ass.) Spriggan's a great action flick. Jin Roh the Wolf Brigade is a political drama with a sprinkling if graphic violence but has very realistic animation and an :O ending.

Of all of Ghibli's offerings including Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke I'd have to say Porco Rosso deserves mentioning.

That's all I've got at the moment but if you give them a chance they should keep you busy for a couple weeks.

Panda4You

Cantide wrote: »

If you're looking for a serious show, I cannot recommend Now and Then, Here and There enough. The first episode starts out light, but after that it just gets darker and darker.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YEAH! I always forget that one, dunno why 'cause it's excellent.

Seattle Thread

Castle of Cagliostro

Slagmire

Vampire Hunter D - both the original and Bloodlust

Janson

Bleach and One Piece are very, very long and full of filler. Please stay away.

I'll also throw in my recommendation for Berserk - just watch past the first two episodes, because the first one sometimes throws people off. Definitely a firm favourite.

Witchhunter Robin was very decent and has gorgeous styling.

Lain and Haibane Renmei are both good bets, although they are very slow-paced (but only 13 episodes long).

Key the Metal Idol is underrated and also fairly short.

RabidCatHater

If you want funny then Genshiken is a good choice. If you see it make sure to watch the 3 episodes of Kujibiki Unbalance afterwards.

Kamichu! is unbearably cute and light-hearted but worth watching.

Samurai Champloo is the greatest thing ever put to film.

aspa

I take it Mushishi haven't been mentioned because the OP only asks for half decent stuff?