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I was just referencing one of my favorite animes in another post so I decided to see if anyone on here is also a big anime fan. I'm a huge otaku, I dont even want to think about all the money I dropped on my anime dvds alone. And that is not counting my anime toys, plushies, magazines, art books, etc.

What are your favorite shows and/or movies?

My recent faves are:

Azumanga Daioh
Pita Ten
Love Hina
Boogiepop Phantom
G-On Riders
Cowboy Bebop
Rahxephon
Jungle Wa
Kare Kano (his and her circumstance)
FLCL (furi kuri / fooly cooly)
Fruits Basket
Serial Experiments Lain
Martian Successor Nadesico
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Puni Puni Poemi
Ai Yori Aoshi
Hoshi no Koe (Voices of a Distant Star)
Hellsing

I'm sure i missed a few. So i might add to the list.

I've seen Lain and Eva. Loved them both. I also thought Bebop was incredible.

I like anime a lot, but I'll admit that I'm more of a "Batman: The Animated Series" kid of guy.

-g

GaryEA wrote:I like anime a lot, but I'll admit that I'm more of a "Batman: The Animated Series" kid of guy.

Alright something we disagree on!

I can not stand the style of Batman: TAS, I don't knwo what it is specifically about it, but I hate it.

I never did get into the comic heroes cartoons at all, always found them to not live up to my expectation of them and they are usually very cheaply made. Thanks alot Hanna Barbera for ruining animation in the US.

GaryEA wrote:I've seen Lain and Eva. Loved them both. I also thought Bebop was incredible.

Back on topic:

If you loved Lain then you definitely need to check out Boogiepop Phantom. The series is about the same length as Lain and very similiar in the sense that it is a confusing multilayered story.

The music is great in Boogiepop also. Highly recommend it.

I am a massive Studio Ghibli / Hayao Miyazaki fan.

Akira and The Vampire Hunter D seemed vaguely cool, but I can't say as I genuinley understood them. I liked AEon Flux and a lot of those animated shorts on MTV a few years ago. And the Manga style background art in the old X-COM PC game was great, really set the mood.

Can someone recommend a good Anime series or movie for beginners? Every time I watch something in this genre I get the feeling that that I'm missing something... Or is it just one of those things where if I have to ask, I'll never know...

fnordboy,

I can not stand the style of Batman: TAS, I don't knwo what it is specifically about it, but I hate it.

Wh..wh..(stammering)... what the heck did the Superfriends do to your poor mind? Oh you poor soul...

If you loved Lain then you definitely need to check out Boogiepop Phantom.

I'll have to check it out. I like anime that is a little more dense than most - Eva, Lain, Gasaraki - they all make you work on understanding it, which is great (though the latter was kinda dull).

Don't get me wrong; I like a lot of anime styles. Dual and Tenchi are great fun, and you cannot go wrong with Bebop IMHO.

Nostradamus,

Which Vampire Hunter D did you watch? There's the classic, which is amazing, and then there's the "remake", subtitled "Bloodlust" (also very good).

Akira takes about four viewings to absorb all of the stuff that is hurled at you. It's amazing stuff, but it took me forever to understand why this was happening and who was who. The new translation/dub in the recent release did a better job, so that might have helped.

If you want a jumping off point with anime, I suggest any of the Tenchi series (though I don't know which series was first) for comedy/"lighter" fare, and Cowbody Bebop for drama/sci-fi.

zero,

I have always loved "Castle of Cogliostro", but have never seen any of his/their other stuff. I'll get to them eventually...

-g

GaryEA wrote: Wh..wh..(stammering)... what the heck did the Superfriends do to your poor mind? Oh you poor soul...

lol. I get that reaction whenever i tell someone who likes that series that i don't.

GaryEA wrote: I'll have to check it out. I like anime that is a little more dense than most - Eva, Lain, Gasaraki - they all make you work on understanding it, which is great (though the latter was kinda dull).

Don't get me wrong; I like a lot of anime styles. Dual and Tenchi are great fun, and you cannot go wrong with Bebop IMHO.

I agree. I love hilarious, no brainer anime as much as the next guy but nothing blows me away like a series that you can wrap your head around. I remember when i first saw Evangelion. My girlfriend and I kept seeing it in Newtype mag back in 95 or 96 when it first aired in Japan (benefit of live 10 mins from a japanese mall ). Then found a local comic shop that was carrying the VHS fansubs of the show. We were hooked. It was painful to wait though for the next tape though... a few eps. had to air and be taped, then they had to be translated, then rerecorded, then shipped to the store ... took forever. But well worth the wait each time . Amazing show. Recently i finally replaced my worn out vhs with the dvd set and rewatching it i didnt realize how slow it was to get to the meat and potatoes of the show. You know somethign is going on underneath the surface but it doesn't get great till like ep. 16 (not that it means the previous 15 aren't good). What did you think?

You will definitely like Boogiepop.

GaryEA wrote: Nostradamus,

<snip>

If you want a jumping off point with anime, I suggest any of the Tenchi series (though I don't know which series was first) for comedy/"lighter" fare, and Cowbody Bebop for drama/sci-fi.

The order of all that is Tenchi is (i think):

Tenchi Muyo!
Tenchi Universe
Tenchi Muyo Movie 1: Tenchi Muyo in Love (Theatrical Movie)
Tenchi Muyo Movie 2: Daughter of Darkness (Theatrical Movie)
Tenchi in Tokyo TV
Tenchi Forever: Tenchi Muyo in Love 2
Mihoshi Special (this I am not sure where it falls in the timeline)
Magical Girl Pretty Sammy (which was a spinoff from Sasami as a Magical Girl in Tenchi Universe)
Magical Project S TV (more Pretty Sammy)
Tenchi GXP (yet another OVA of Tenchi...though not with the original characters)

writing it down makes it look like so much...

Nostradamus wrote:Akira and The Vampire Hunter D seemed vaguely cool, but I can't say as I genuinley understood them. I liked AEon Flux and a lot of those animated shorts on MTV a few years ago. And the Manga style background art in the old X-COM PC game was great, really set the mood.

Can someone recommend a good Anime series or movie for beginners? Every time I watch something in this genre I get the feeling that that I'm missing something... Or is it just one of those things where if I have to ask, I'll never know...

I would say judging by what you have seen already go with renting Cowboy Bebop. I don't think you will be disappointed at all. But if you want something to just totally delve into try Serial Experiements Lain.

I will make a genre list for ya:

Action/Comedy/Slight Romance:
Cowboy Bebop

Intelligent Sci-Fi:
Serial Experiments Lain

Intelligent Horror:
Boogiepop Phantom
Hellsing

Funny:
Love Hina
Tenchi Muyo!

Insanely Bizarre:
FLCL (Fooly Cooly)
Excel Saga
I'm Gonna Be an Angel!

Trys to pass itself off as a big robot show but really has deep religious/occult/psychological insight:
Neon Genesis Evangelion

Cute:
Cardcaptor Sakura

Romance:
His and Her Circumstance (Kare Kano)
Oh! My Goddess

Those are all tv shows, some short some long. And they are all Region 1 released. I wont even get into the shows that arent released here yet. I have about 40 gigs of digisubs on my harddrive at home if your interested in something.

Uhhhh, I read one of the Pokemon comics - my lit teacher was using it as an example of the Hero with a Thousand Faces. She passed around her kid's Pokemon comic book and when it got to me, I spent the rest of the hour reading that instead of taking notes.

Sorry, that's the closest I've been to anime.

I am but an innocent flower.

fnordboy wrote:What are your favorite shows and/or movies?

I dig anime, though I haven't been overly exposed to the sheer range of titles. I adore Neon Genesis Evangelion and still make time to watch the whole series every month or so. Cowboy Bebop blew my mind the first time I saw it. The skilful animation, atypical music, deft humour and underlying heart of the series, create a truly distinct experience. At the moment, I'm watching the Best Sessions discs in fabulous DTS.

Now Miyazaki... "genius" seems terribly inadequate. Even now, after a week from seeing it, I'm still in awe of Spirited Away, which is the first anime to get a semi-decent theatrical release in Australia (opened a few days ago).

GaryEA and Fnordboy, thanks for the tips.

What??? Am I a mutant? (Don't answer that!) But nobody mentioned Ghost in the Shell!!! As far as beginner anime and a great story I think its hard to beat... from there you can move on to true mess with your mind stuff like Lain

Good call, GitS is definitely a good beginner anime. I'm curious about the new GitS show, anyone seen any of it yet?

Also for another beginner anime, Blood the Last Vampire. Short, great animation. Definitely worth a rental.

mglenn wrote:What??? Am I a mutant? (Don't answer that!) But nobody mentioned Ghost in the Shell!!! As far as beginner anime and a great story I think its hard to beat... from there you can move on to true mess with your mind stuff like Lain

I agree. I love hilarious, no brainer anime as much as the next guy but nothing blows me away like a series that you can wrap your head around.

Sounds both like Dual! and Lain/Eva.

{quote]I remember when i first saw Evangelion. My girlfriend and I kept seeing it in Newtype mag back in 95 or 96 when it first aired in Japan (benefit of live 10 mins from a japanese mall ). [/quote]

Heh... That mall wouldn't be on the Hudson River, would it? (I love that place... it's the only place I can find milk-tea).

Then found a local comic shop that was carrying the VHS fansubs of the show. We were hooked. It was painful to wait though for the next tape though... a few eps. had to air and be taped, then they had to be translated, then rerecorded, then shipped to the store ... took forever. But well worth the wait each time . Amazing show.

My brother introduced me to Eva. He had gotten a bunch of the tapes from Suncoast and I watched them in one sitting, maybe six episodes in all. I was both stunned, in awe, and full of questions. I watched them again, and everything started to sink in. The remaining tapes didn't come fast enough.

Recently i finally replaced my worn out vhs with the dvd set and rewatching it i didnt realize how slow it was to get to the meat and potatoes of the show. You know somethign is going on underneath the surface but it doesn't get great till like ep. 16 (not that it means the previous 15 aren't good). What did you think?

It does take a good portion of the show's run to get into the core of what is really going on, but getting there is a damn fun trip. Details like what makes up the fluids inside an Eva when a pilot is inside, or the early mysteries of Rei (his first trip to her apartment) are fantastic. And I love the running gag with Shinji and hospital ceilings.

But when the show kicks in, it KICKS IN, and if you're not on the same wavewlength by then, you're going to get lost pretty fast, especially with the abrupt pace of the last few episodes. Thankfully the movies are now available and the whole show can be viewed as a whole.

I just heard that Eva is going to get another tv run, followed by another round of tapes/DVDs, along with new toys. Interesting...

-g