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A New Animated Series to Watch
Flay
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Okay, I've finished watching the entire series of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It definitely gets a :^: from me, especially the second season. The only thing I didn't like was (ending spoiler)...
Now I need a new animated television series to watch. Animated or western; I don't really mind so long as it's good (note that pretty much the only experience I have with anime is Miyazaki films). Preferably the action/science-fiction/fantasy/horror type stuff. I particularly like shows with dark undertones. Comedy or romance is generally out, but I don't mind these so long as they're not the main focus of the show. Although it can be episodic, it'd definitely be better if it had at least some elements of an overarching storyline, if this isn't the main focus. I wan't to avoid animes with an unreasonable amount of filler. More modern stuff is probably preferred, but that doesn't mean I won't watch the classics. So, got any suggestions?
Shows I'm considering...
Shows that are out...
... pretty much the entire ending. Too goddamn happy. I mean, I know it was meant to wrap everything up, and it was aimed at a younger audience. But it would have been such a more meaningful ending if Aang/Katara didn't end up together, or there was at least some ambiguity. And Zuko's character was so much better when he was a conflicted dickhead. The fight-scenes were awesome though. But I digress...
Now I need a new animated television series to watch. Animated or western; I don't really mind so long as it's good (note that pretty much the only experience I have with anime is Miyazaki films). Preferably the action/science-fiction/fantasy/horror type stuff. I particularly like shows with dark undertones. Comedy or romance is generally out, but I don't mind these so long as they're not the main focus of the show. Although it can be episodic, it'd definitely be better if it had at least some elements of an overarching storyline, if this isn't the main focus. I wan't to avoid animes with an unreasonable amount of filler. More modern stuff is probably preferred, but that doesn't mean I won't watch the classics. So, got any suggestions?
Shows I'm considering...
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Clone Wars
- Cowboy Bebop (I saw the first episode and didn't particularly like it, but I want to give it another shot)
Shows that are out...
- Naruto
- One Piece (I've only seen bits of 4kids version though, so maybe that's a bad example...)
- Any western 60s cartoon series
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Cowboy bebop was fantastic. Space bounty hunters and whatnot. Kickass soundtrack.
Afro Samurai. It was an anime made starring Samuel L. Jackson. Action (and gore) out the wazoo.
Fullmetal Alchemist was fun. It could be a little corny at times, but overall I really enjoyed it.
Oh yeah ... Lazerbeak is a freaking GUITAR now. Fuck yeah.
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
It is most excellent, good art and solid script. I find it very entertaining. Or at least, what I've seen so far (I'm just now watching it), the first two seasons are good.
I can also second Cowboy Bebop and I am hoping to watch Ghost in the Shell and the Fullmetal Alchemist soon. Avatar is on my list as well.
Although they are movies, I also recommend the Hellboy Animated movies. But I do loves me some Hellboy.
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...huh, looking online, there's now a second season with another 13 episodes. Can't speak for season 2 as I haven't seen it, but the first season was very good.
actually, all of its brilliant, especially on repeat viewings.
That being said, it's not a show for everyone; the series is epic in length, so it's a bit daunting to start. And the goofy art style and premise might not be your cup of tea. But there is a reason why it is among Shonen Jump's most popular properties, and is second only to Dragonball in terms of popularity.
The good times are had a bit down the road, but you have to trek through some slow beginnings first. Things start picking up at around the third story arc, and if you're not sold by the fourth one then the series isn't going to do much for you. Story arcs move by really quickly in the beginning, so don't worry about how long it'll take till the show starts to peak.
I'm sure a lot of people would punch me if I said I didn't like the movie... So I won't. (I didn't)
I remember catching a glimpse of this when I was up late once, however, and didn't mind what I saw. I might give it another shot.
I've been meaning to watch this, but it completely slipped my mind.
Not sure about this one, but it still catches my eye for some reason.
I saw the pilot/opening movie of this. The show itself was pretty nifty (though there was a bit too much focus on action and not enough on character development in my mind - and I do like well developed characters, keep that in mind) but the art direction was beautiful. This alone might make me watch it.
I almost definitely going to give Cowboy Bebop another try now.
Another point I'd like to make: I'm not really a fan of the mainstream superhero type stuff. Not yet at least. This means Superman, Spiderman, X-Men, Justice League and so on. This doesn't mean I'm not willing to try though, but you'll have to convince me first.
Gurren Lagann really is a great show. I know it gets hyped pretty hard in the anime thread, but it's for good reason. Great animation, hilarious dialogue, outlandish action...it's like if you took one of your favorite cartoons from your childhood and pulled a Spinal Tap, turning everything to 11.
Fullmetal Alchemist is worth your time for sure. It even starts off decently, and gradually gets stronger. Finish the original 50+ episodes and start watching the new series they started airing which follows the manga.
I would suggest trying a few episodes of Blood+. The animation is crisp and modern, the action is pretty good, and there's some good story/slight mystery involved.
Vampire Hunter D is a great action movie. If the animation is too dated for you, try out the newer movie Vampire Hunter D : Bloodlust. I like both of them equally, and they're really entertaining.
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Elfen Lied is entertaining. Some very dark scenes, fanservice thrown in liberally though. Very violent.
Very much this. Satoshi Kon does some great anime. If you end up liking Paranoia Agent, try out Perfect Blue and Paprika. Those are both excellent psychological movies, with Perfect Blue being extremely dark and Paprika as seemingly light but still a mind trip.
Weaboo List
Last Exile is a great steampunk anime that has basically no filler.
Chobits is good...androids!.
Escaflowne was a good kinda.... fantasy scifi mix anime.
but they're listening to every word I say
Full Metal Alchemist and Cowboy Bebop were both damn good, but...
Code Geass and Code Geass R2 are by far the best I've ever seen.
I wouldn't recommend Death Note, would go into the why but that's spoilerville.
Eureka 7 - A brilliant and moving romance cleverly disguised as a mecha action show.
I haven't watched it yet, but Baccano! has gotten nothing but praise.
If you haven't bought Neon Genesis Evangelion yet I would suggest waiting for the inevitable dvd release of the new movies coming out. They are works of animated glory, with much of the bits that made people dislike the original series cut out or at least toned down. You may have to wait awhile though.
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This actually sounds pretty damn cool. I love sci-fi and/or fantasy which revolves around more 'everyday' type people.
Samurai Champloo is easily my favorite animated show of all time. Cool stories, the best action sequences I've ever seen and easily the best ending. It just gets progressively more badass until it can't badass no more.
I really like Cowboy Bebop as well, but that's made by the same crew as Samurai Champloo and yeah... SC is better.
If you want something western and you've never seen The Venture Bros, I adore that series. Seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD and Season 3 is on the US Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
NGE, Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal have already gotten glowing recommendations (which they rightly deserve), but I'm surprised no one has mentioned Le Chevalier D'Eon. It's a fantastic series, with excellent writing, beautiful animation (the fight scenes in particular are fluid and brutal) great characterisation and some very dark themes. It was made by Production I.G. (who did Ghost in the Shell: SAC, which I haven't yet seen) and Michiru Oshima did the sountrack (she was also the composer behind FMA). If you like historical fantasy in any way at all, or hell, even if you just like anime, pick it up. You won't regret it.
On the non-anime side of the animated spectrum, it would appear that the 90's X-Men cartoon is getting a new series of releases on DVD. This was easily my favourite cartoon when I was younger (Batman coming a close second) and the writing and characters are just as enjoyable now. Although, that might be nostalgia speaking. Anyway, if you're into X-Men, it's probably the best representation of the source material. Hell, sometimes it's even a little bit better.
A few that haven't been brought up yet but are all very good.
Gankutsuou:
An adaption of The Count of Monte Cristo, told from Albert's point of view and set in the future. Rome is replaced by a city on the surface of the moon, references to the far east are changed to an eastern sector of space and the characters transition incredibly well from one medium to the other. I'd recommend this having read the book first, but you can still certainly pick up and watch it. There is a supernatural element to it that wasn't in the book but an outstanding series all the same.
Darker than Black:
A series about an Chinese espionage team set up in Japan to investigate a research lab. 10 years previous to the show commencing there was an anomaly in South America, the night sky has been replaced with an entirely new set of fake stars, each is linked to a certain person.
These people are called contractors, who have special powers (can freeze water, levitate or conduct electricity, phase through objects) but after using them are required to pay a renumeration (must smoke a cigarette, lay a set of stones in a precise way, drink a child's blood) and are totally rational and amoral. They feel no guilt and they can't form or retain social bonds with other people. A normal Contractor cares essentially only about their own well-being and everything is reduced to a cost/benefit analysis: Any other issues like laws, emotions, or human life is irrelevant to them.
Monster:
A young Japanese neurosurgeon named Tenma in Germany has everything in life, he's successful, relatively famous and has the favour of the hospital's director while engaged to his daughter. However he becomes more and more despondent at the political calculations made in regards to the priority given to patients after saving the life of a famous musician who arrived after a local man. (who dies in surgery while being treated by a less skilled doctor)
Then a young boy is brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head after his family are killed after defecting from another country. He chooses to operate on and saves Johan's life after being ordered leave the boy and operate on the city's mayor. The mayor dies and Tenma proceeds to lose everything he previously had. Nine years on Tenma is the chief surgeon of the hospital when he runs into Johan, now grown up. He is incredibly brilliant, charismatic and a total monster lacking any sort of morals or code. He murders, twists people to become killers and delights in causing misery and chaos while saying that he intends "to be the last one alive at the end of the world." A world which he is working to bring about. Tenma feels that he is obligated to stop him as he is only alive after an intervention that should never have happened and the series leads on from there.
Brave and the Bold is also good but it can get silly at times so it's not everyone's cup of tea. If a modernized version of the 60s Batman campiness sounds interesting then you should give it a shot.
A guy finds himself in New York with no clothes, a gun and a mobile phone linked to a bank account with a balance of eight and a half billion yen. Each episode will cover the events of a single day 24 style then a movie for the final day.
It has been great so far.
Rather than focusing on the pretty boys who have magic mechs that fight off a legion of Zaku while baking muffins, the 08th MS Team focuses on the pilots of your normal every day mechs (like the ones usually getting blown up all the time.) In my opinion, it is the best of all the Gundam series and is worth seeking out.
Also Seirei no Moribito:
Japanese trailer
I'm sure it's available in English but the trailer should give you an idea.
Better requote this.
Also, with regards to Cowboy Bebop: I know of it and I'm going to try watching it again. You can stop recommending it.
I kind of liked Noir as well, older action anime.. but it does get a bit repetitive, and I found the "end run" for it was a bit of a let down, but really enjoyed it up till then.
If you wind up liking Cowboy Bebop, you may want to watch Samurai Champloo, as they are very much the same... I found Bebop to be superior. Other than that I don't have any other real recommendations that haven't been mentioned already. If you want feature film types, you may want to check out Paprika and Perfect Blue.
Speaking of Samurai Jack, the creator Genndy Tartakovsky also made the Clone Wars mini-series that came out before Revenge of the Sith. I highly recommend this series. Another Clone Wars show came out last year which is all CG. I don't know which one you were referencing in the OP, but the Tartakovsky series is far superior. It's also only 2 DVDs, and about 2 hours long, so you'd be able to watch the whole thing in an evening.
Death Note for sure. After a certain point it sort of takes a bit of a dive, but it's amazing up to that point and overall a great series.
I'll also toss my two cents in that Gurren Lagann is worth watching. It starts off a bit silly, and by definition it's really not a show that would normally interest me as like you, I prefer kind of a darker series, but it really is pretty awesome. You have to kick reason to the curb and not think too hard, but crazy stuff happens with robots and at the end you'll be so pumped up that you'll want to cry. Manly tears, of course.
Also mentioned has been Evangelion, which if you haven't seen is really a must watch for anyone who is into anime. I know some people who don't like it but it's just sort of one of those things you have to see, like Star Wars.
I think we might have similar tastes, because Bebop didn't do it for me either. I've seen the entire series though. Like Evangelion it's probably just something you need to watch regardless.
I loved Code Geass for the first season but the second was full of "what the fuck is going on?" I still recommend giving it a shot though. The main character is similar to the one of Death Note in his personality and tactics, which was what drew me in. I also liked that it was a mech show that didn't really focus on the mechs much and didn't spout a ton of technobabble about them. Kinda takes that route a bit later on though.
Uh, what else...
Eureka 7 is pretty good. I liked the first half better. A lot of people disagree with me there, though.
I'll probably get shot for saying this but I really enjoyed Gundam Seed. Focuses a lot more on the characters than the robots. Has a bit of that robot technobabble going on though. The sequel series, Destiny, may as well not exist, though. One of the few series I actively regret seeing as it just ruined a lot of characters.
Your brain will hate you, it may even try and murder you in your sleep, but it's one of the best anime's out there and you need to watch it.
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I'm just curious; is there a reason why you aren't a fan of mainstream superhero media?