Looking to get into anime

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Looking to get into anime

Gankutsuou
Amazing anime with it's very own unique art. The plot was amazing, but there isn't an whole lot of fighting. However this anime is one of my most favorite, up there with Rurouni Kenshin OVA.

I'd like to point out that the plot is based on the Count of Montecristo.

Ya I nearly didn't watch Gankutsuou because of it being based on the Count of Montecristo. I'm glad I did watch it. It sucked me in with the beautiful unique art style, great acting, and good story. I was sad to see it end. I have to say one of the best ones I've seen in a while.

[DakAttack]

Re: Looking to get into anime

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure OVA was somewhat interesting. It's a lot like DBZ when it comes to character depth and plot quality. I thought the concept of stands had a lot of potential, but they just didn't take it very far.

[Eiyoko]

Re: Looking to get into anime

If you really want to get into anime, stay far away from anything even resembling 4kids. The fansubs are 500% better.

Edit: Forgot to mention that that's obvious, so here we go. It's obvious 4kids sucks.

I have an odd taste in anime and manga so the above statement shall suffice.

[Mhurron]

Re: Looking to get into anime

Ya know, I still haven't seen Voltron. Seriously, is it good?

Honestly, probably not if you weren't watching it with nostalgia on your side. Personally, I giggled like a school girl when I first saw the DVD's as HMV.

Voltron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I even had the toy Castle of Lions.

One that hasn't been mentioned is Urusei Yatsura. It's another comedy, same sort of feel as Ranma but a very different plot. If you like one you'll probably like the other.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Looking to get into anime

Honestly, probably not if you weren't watching it with nostalgia on your side. Personally, I giggled like a school girl when I first saw the DVD's as HMV.

Voltron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I even had the toy Castle of Lions.

One that hasn't been mentioned is Urusei Yatsura. It's another comedy, same sort of feel as Ranma but a very different plot. If you like one you'll probably like the other.

LOL My son still has his Voltron bedspread packed away in his closet. It was Voltron, He-Man, and Thundercats..........Hoooooooooooooooooooo!

[Omniblast]

Re: Looking to get into anime

Some of the recommendations here fall into two categories.
1) Legal full licensed released anime
2) Not legally released anime

The ones that you can download to watch with subtitles that are done by sub groups are sometimes the 2nd variety. They usually want you to support the original artist by purchasing the released anime once they are licensed.

Most of the Anime that you (boldfinger) have mentioned are licensed, been around for a very long time, DVDed, animes. Some other members here have mentioned anime that you can download for free to watch, and they are about 200-300 MB per episode, run on either divx or xvid codec, and play on your computer usually.

My preference is for the downloaded torrent videos (.torrent) of non-licensed Anime, however I do or did watch Naruto, Bleach, Karin, Chobits, Air Gear, Gundam Seed, Super Robot Wars, Death Note, My Hime, My Otome, My Otome Zwei,
Full Metal Panic!,
These are all in no particular Order.

The ones that I have watched legally on DVD are:
I My Me! Strawberry Eggs
Ranma 1/2
Dragonball Z
Tenchi Muyo
Oh my Goddess
Escaflowne
Full Metal Alchemist <-- Movie was good too, it brought a lot of closure to the TV series.

I'll list more when I get home, I have to rummage through all my collections.

[Maju]

Re: Looking to get into anime

I think some of the advice in this thread has been really horrible.

Even though anime genres are as diverse if not even more diverse than in any kind of live action, it is an acquired taste. You don't just jump into something like Lucky Star or Minami-ke if you aren't an anime veteran. The culture shock will be too much for you to enjoy it, not to mention all the jokes will be incomprehensible.

People should be suggesting suitable transitional shows, not crazy super robot series like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Yes, it's sci-fi, but not the kind of sci-fi us Westerners make and it will seem only ridiculous if you aren't familiar with the super robot genre which it is a parody of.

Another thing to consider is your age. If you're over 20, chances are you won't be enthralled by teen hits like Naruto or Bleach despite their huge popularity all over the world. I'll just go ahead and assume you're older than that, so I'll suggest some titles that I believe would be highly enjoyable and suitable starting points for an anime hobby.


1. Rurouni Kenshin (first OVA only, don't bother with the TV series)

This was already mentioned in the thread but it deserves another mention. It is just plain good in almost every way imaginable and it's easy to "get" for anyone. It's basically a samurai action-drama (emphasis on drama).

I believe the first OVA series, which consists of two parts, was called Samurai X: Trust and Samurai X: Betrayal in the US (hopefully the guy who came up with those got fired). In Japan and among fans it is known as Tsuiokuhen. The second OVA, Samurai X: Reflection (Seisouen in Japan), I can't recommend as it assumes you know what happens in the TV series and it's not nearly as good, anyway.


2. Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid (TV series, 14 episodes)

I'm not going to recommend the first season, titled Full Metal Panic, but the second season with the added title of The Second Raid. This is because the second season is made by another company and it's vastly superior to the first one. Knowledge of the first season also isn't needed to understand the second one. FMP is a sci-fi action-comedy set in an alternative near future. This is another one that just does everything right and is good for beginners.


3. Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV series, then End of Evangelion)

This I guess is a bit of a cult classic and some insist it's wildly overrated. It's solid sci-fi, however, and the emotional impact, especially in the End of Evangelion, can be enormous. Note that the plot in this is very difficult and you must have watched the TV series before touching the movie. Otherwise you will have no idea whatsoever of what is going on.

End of Evangelion replaces episodes 25 and 26, the last two episodes of the TV series (which were somewhat incomprehensible). Death & Rebirth is not necessary at all as Death's purpose was to simply remind people of what happened in the series while Rebirth is essentially an incomplete End of Evangelion.

[Mr.Trilby]

Re: Looking to get into anime

Hey if you enjoy Spirited away and Princess Mononoke try

Howls Moving Castle
Laputa : Castle in the sky
Nausicaa

Those are my fav Studio Ghibli films, theres a new one out too but i haven't watched it. Hope you enjoy, I love Howls.

[Issu]

Re: Looking to get into anime

I'd personally suggest watching:

• Eureka 7
• Air Gear
• Rurouni Kenshin
• Naruto
• FLCL

-There are others I like, just can't remember the names..

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Looking to get into anime

Another thing to consider is your age. If you're over 20, chances are you won't be enthralled by teen hits like Naruto or Bleach despite their huge popularity all over the world.

Personally I think your advice is swayed to your tastes just as is everyone else's in the thread. The above comment is a vast generalization since all of us here enjoy both Naruto AND Bleach and we are well over the age of 20. I think its up the individual to take the advice and do a little legwork of their own on the net to see if the anime will suit their tastes. You can try Encyclopedia - Anime News Network .

[Feba]

Re: Looking to get into anime

The above comment is a vast generalization since all of us here enjoy both Naruto AND Bleach and we are well over the age of 20.

I'm under 20 and I can't stand them.


So yeah, pretty much depends on your taste. If you have any, you won't like them, if you don't, go on and watch them.

[Maju]

Re: Looking to get into anime

Personally I think your advice is swayed to your tastes just as is everyone else's in the thread. The above comment is a vast generalization since all of us here enjoy both Naruto AND Bleach and we are well over the age of 20. I think its up the individual to take the advice and do a little legwork of their own on the net to see if the anime will suit their tastes. You can try Encyclopedia - Anime News Network .

Whether you or someone else older than 20 in the thread enjoys those is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that the target audience for both shows are teens, not adults.

[Zempten]

Re: Looking to get into anime

The whole point of us posting our recommendations is just for him to have something to check out so he doesn't just randomly choose some anime. We're not giving out recommendations to be criticize by others. So just give your recommendations and let him do the choosing.

Lastly, age has nothing to do with it. It's like TheGrandMom says, it's individual taste. Some popular anime just aren't accepted by some (like how Feba can't stand bleach/naruto).

[Boldfinger]

...

[fallenintoshadows]

Re: Looking to get into anime

If you like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke I highly recommend you trying others from Ghibli like Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa valley of the Wind, Pom Poko, Howl's Moving Castle etc.

Other anime's I'd recommend because I've liked them myself are Hellsing, any of the .hack series (starts with .hack//sign, you may know these from the games they released), Vampire Knight, of course Naruto and Bleach, any of the Gundam series, my personal favourite being Gundam Wing, the Macross series/movies, my favourite being Macross Plus, One Piece, Escaflowne (a great series wasn't too hot on the movie though), Boogiepop Phantom series (Also a live action film), Full Metal Alchemist, if you' don't mind a bit of Shoujo then Furuba/Fruits Basket, Fushigi Yugi, Yami No Matsuei and the only film I can recall watching similar to Legend of the Overfiend is one called Adventure Duo. I'm pretty sure it has an alternative JP name.

Hope this helps ^-^