Recommend Me Some Anime Dammit

[Tanasinn]

It's hard NOT to be shorter than LoGH, which clocked in at, what, 114 episodes? Before gaiden eps and movies?

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is worth your time. It has strong characters and a huge cast. Long as it was, I finished it quickly.

If you're looking for something short and funny, Cromartie High is worth watching.

[Guardsman Bass]

Is there any way to get LotGH legally in the US?

[Stark]

Beyond streaming services or importing DVDs, I don't think so. Overrated anyway; just watch something that's actually available. Something made in the last twenty years, even! :V

[generator_g1]

Some current ones if you can get from streaming sites...

Suisei no Gargantia



Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince



Valvrave the Liberator

[Bright]

For whatever reason, I've never seen Spice and Wolf mentioned on these forums. Well, I'm going to rectify that now.

Watch Spice and Wolf.

You might be getting a little worried if you read just the plot synopsis - medieval peddler meets naked wolf-girl - but rest assured that the show completely demolishes low expectations. It's a really unique blend of fantasy drama, economic thriller and a love story, with next to no cheap fanservice. The writing is mature, the conflicts shockingly interesting and the characterization rich. I'm legitimately not exaggerating when I say that the main characters have some of the best chemistry I've seen in fiction. Their interactions are absolutely incredible, both in regards to amusing banter and emotional investment. A good 50% of the series is the two leads sitting around and talking and that's made as entertaining as anything else I've seen in anime. It's a must-watch if you're interested in relationship drama/romance.

If you're not and are looking for more SF-related recommendations, how about...

Darker Than Black - Batman meets X-Men, basically, but that's too high concept to really describe the series.
Gankutsuou - The Count of Monte Cristo reimagined in the distant future.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - A cyberpunk classic, probably superior to the movie. I'm surprised no one else has recommended it already...

[SAMAS]

And if you liked that, also check out Maoyu Maou Yuusha.

[Tandrax218]

Google this guy :Yoshiaki Kawajiri
for me he is the bad ass mother f***** of anime

Films
Neo Tokyo (1987) -- the Runing man segment
Wicked City (1987) - +++
Demon City Shinjuku
A Wind Named Amnesia +++
Ninja Scroll (1993)+++
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000) +++++
The Animatrix (2003) segment
OVA


Goku: Midnight Eye (1989) -
Goku II: Midnight Eye (1989) -
Cyber City Oedo 808 (1990) - ++++
The Cockpit (1994) (segment Slipstream) +++
Biohunter (1995) -+++
Master Keaton (1998)

The more + a title has the more i liked it
This guy is awesome, and the animation is great, especialy vampire hunter d. I can watch it over and oer again.
These are not mecha anime by the way...

[The Disintegrator]

To second a few of the one's already mentioned;

Cowboy Bebop - At this point I'd say it's one of the classics that you pretty much have to watch to be a proper anime fan. Unfortunately it only ran for one season and a movie, but on the upside it makes it easy to cross of the bucket list. Most of the episodes are somewhat stand alone in plot, but they're all really good in their own way. With its special focus on music (most of the episode titles are song titles) this one's definitely unique.

Black Lagoon - This is one of the my favorites. There's two seasons out, plus an OVA was released in Japan that should be coming over to the US with dubbing at some point. Plus the manga that it's based on just started putting out some new stuff, so this one could be considered potentially still active. As for what it is, it's about a group of smugglers in Southeast Asia during the 90's that get wrapped up in a bunch of criminal underworld dealings. It's full of action, and there's a lot of American pop culture references.

Full Metal Panic - Here's my thing about this one; the episodes that focus on the actual broader plot and fighting are awesome. The mecha stuff is great. But then there's a lot of episodes that have nothing to do with that. Some people like it, some people don't.

Full Metal Alchemist - First off, this is way different than Full Metal Panic. Anyhow, as has been mentioned there's two different series. There's the original, and then there's Brotherhood. The original was done before the manga was finished, so the plot diverges a lot during the second half, and there's a fair amount of filler. Brotherhood follows the manga more closely, and its more condensed with very little filler. As a result I recommend Brotherhood. But with that said, Full Metal Alchemist is another one of the really popular one's, and rightfully so.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - This is easily one of the best looking animes I've seen. This one ran for two seasons (second season is referred to as 2nd Gig), and a movie called Solid State Society. It's a pretty cool series, and shows some real production value.



Now a few that I didn't see mentioned;

Akira - This was a feature length movie, and one of the earlier anime works to come over to the US. This is one of the better movies in general to come out of Japan in my opinion.

Outlaw Star - Think Firefly, but with more Asian influence, and with some Tao magic thrown in for good measure. It's awesome.

FLCL - One of the most bizarre things I've ever seen, but it is worth it.

[Tanasinn]

Is there any way to get LotGH legally in the US?

Never got a release here and probably never will. It's ridiculously available anyway, though. Last I checked the whole damn thing was up on youtube.

[Guardsman Bass]

I found the first couple of episodes on Youtube, and I'll give them a watch.

[SAMAS]

Another one you might find entertaining:


Kenichi: History's Mightiest Disciple -- Kenichi Shinohara is a somewhat wimpy young man who wants to be better. Unfortunately, the bullies that torment him just happen to be the guys at the school karate club he was hoping to improve himself at.

The good news is, there's a cute new girl in class named Miu, and she kinda likes him. The Good and Bad news is: Miu's home happens to be a dojo wherein reside six of the most powerful martial artists on the planetv (And Miu's no slouch herself). Under their tutelage, taking on the local bullies shouldn't be that hard, right? Of course, he has to survive their training first.

Then Kenichi finds out that there is always a bigger fish, and these sharks always seem to be attracted by him defeating the last guy trying to beat him up.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Mizaki's got a new one coming out on Disney where a group of kids pull a "Flight of the Pheonix" on what's left of an old Kamakazi.....

[Napoleon the Clown]

FLCL is so delightfully deranged. It's only six episodes long, though, so it won't last you terribly long. A few jokes do get lost in translation, though the team that handled translation did their best to make as many jokes work as possible. All you need to know is that the show has giant mecha and a gas-powered Rickenbacker bass guitar that is used to club people over the head. Also, seaweed eyebrows.

If you enjoy the strange side of things Excel Saga is also worth checking out. Last I looked it's available on Youtube through the company that handled the dub. If it's still up you've got a legal way to watch it without having to rent DVDs.

[hunter5]

Eye shield 21, bleach, naruto, one piece, Kekkashi, Big O, Host club, Zombie Loan, Yakitake Japan, Kiba, Orphan, Digimon, Fist of the North star, and Fairy tail just to get you started. I personally liked Inuyasha but it is very much a DBZ for girls

[Iracundus]

Legend of the Galactic Heroes. The equivalent of the Russian novel of anime and often compared to the Chinese epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Best for those that like political intrigue and war, developed over many episodes. Not for those after quick fixes where they can turn off their brain.

[Stark]

You mean that one discussed on this very page? Maybe put some thought into recommendations and actually read the thread instead of posting 'thing I like'.

[Iracundus]

There are multiple mentions of LOGH in this thread which is a testament that more than one person recommends it, just as there is more than one recommendation in the thread for Space Battleship Yamato. Nowhere is it stated that any one work can be mentioned once and only once in the thread. Don't like it? Tough. There is a reason LOGH is recommended multiple times in this thread and that is because it blows many other series out of the water and does not pander to many of the anime stereotypes present in other series.

If you've got some personal dislike or vendetta against this series that's your own problem. People are free to post to recommend whatever they want. What the OP chooses to watch is also up to him.

[Jub]

There are multiple mentions of LOGH in this thread which is a testament that more than one person recommends it, just as there is more than one recommendation in the thread for Space Battleship Yamato. Nowhere is it stated that any one work can be mentioned once and only once in the thread. Don't like it? Tough. There is a reason LOGH is recommended multiple times in this thread and that is because it blows many other series out of the water and does not pander to many of the anime stereotypes present in other series.

If you've got some personal dislike or vendetta against this series that's your own problem. People are free to post to recommend whatever they want. What the OP chooses to watch is also up to him.

The issue is that you didn't frame your recommendation as one of many. Your post seems more like a first mention than anything and makes it look like you failed to read the thread.

[Iracundus]

Nowhere is there a mandate that multiple series need be mentioned or recommended in a post to be considered "valid". One recommendation is as valid as a post that names a dozen series. I am not responsible for people's reading errors or their own assumptions nor do I care about their ridiculous demands on how other people's posts must conform to their own expectations.

[Jub]

Nowhere is there a mandate that multiple series need be mentioned or recommended in a post to be considered "valid". One recommendation is as valid as a post that names a dozen series. I am not responsible for people's reading errors or their own assumptions nor do I care about their ridiculous demands on how other people's posts must conform to their own expectations.

Defensive much?

Did I ever say there was such a thing? Nope, I just pointed out why people might not even bother reading your post. It doesn't add anything new to the thread nor does it point out an aspect of the anime that hasn't already been mentioned. It's a +1 post if I've ever seen one.

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On topic:

The new Hellsing OVA series has been pretty decent so far. It's a YMMV thing though as the plot does have stupid elements and Alucard is still pretty no limits.

[Iracundus]

Defensive much?

Did I ever say there was such a thing? Nope, I just pointed out why people might not even bother reading your post. It doesn't add anything new to the thread nor does it point out an aspect of the anime that hasn't already been mentioned. It's a +1 post if I've ever seen one.

Again point out where in the thread it stipulates rules that an anime can be mentioned only once or that something dramatically new and never before known has to be said before it can be allowed? Get over yourself. More than one person can like an anime or recommend it. Just because it was mentioned earlier doesn't mean someone has to discover an unknown director's cut version before it can be mentioned again. Stop trying to dictate what others can or cannot recommend.

[Iracundus]

Oh and just for the record, if you go through the actual thread, not one of the previous posts mentioning LOGH actually delves into its genre (political intrigue + war) or what it entails (Russian or Chinese epic novel like in profusion of characters and plots). All other mentions are purely generic "good" or long and big cast comments, with the only an oblique reference in the recommendation for Crest of the Stars in pointing out its differences from LOGH. So even the critique that there is "nothing new" in the original recommendation is false.

[Jub]

Oh and just for the record, if you go through the actual thread, not one of the previous posts mentioning LOGH actually delves into its genre (political intrigue + war) or what it entails (Russian or Chinese epic novel like in profusion of characters and plots). All other mentions are purely generic "good" or long and big cast comments, with the only an oblique reference in the recommendation for Crest of the Stars in pointing out its differences from LOGH. So even the critique that there is "nothing new" in the original recommendation is false.

You're wrong again, the LOGH thread was mentioned which covers all of those points. Try doing the reading next time.

[Iracundus]

Oh and just for the record, if you go through the actual thread, not one of the previous posts mentioning LOGH actually delves into its genre (political intrigue + war) or what it entails (Russian or Chinese epic novel like in profusion of characters and plots). All other mentions are purely generic "good" or long and big cast comments, with the only an oblique reference in the recommendation for Crest of the Stars in pointing out its differences from LOGH. So even the critique that there is "nothing new" in the original recommendation is false.

You're wrong again, the LOGH thread was mentioned which covers all of those points. Try doing the reading next time.

You're the one that's failed to read critically. The OP mentioned BRIEFLY perusing the thread and mentioned noticing the pew pew. Nothing at all about the rest, such as characters or plot and in fact that was part of the original OP's post and question about whether it was worth watching beyond the fighting. Plenty of shows have pew pew without delving into political intrigue or war at a strategic scale.

So, I'm a few episodes into Gundam SEED and digging it as a whole (I like the whole pacifism vs. duty thing going on so far, and the friend vs friend FOG OF WAR), and it is making me want to broaden my horizons a bit, anime-wise. Anyone got any other similar series recommendations to share? How about other Gundam stuffs? Like, my only real Gundam experience was the Wing stuff Cartoon Network used to air, so I could use some input on what to try next. I remember briefly perusing Vympel's big ass Galactic Heroes thread, and while it has some cool pew pew, does the actual characters and writing in that show warrant a watch?

Pretty clear the OP just noticed the action and just now asking questions regarding the characters and plot. Unwarranted therefore to presume any knowledge in making a recommendation.

[Jub]

You're the one that's failed to read critically. The OP mentioned BRIEFLY perusing the thread and mentioned noticing the pew pew. Nothing at all about the rest, such as characters or plot and in fact that was part of the original OP's post and question about whether it was worth watching beyond the fighting. Plenty of shows have pew pew without delving into political intrigue or war at a strategic scale.

You're cute, way to get your back up about nothing.

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Again back on topic.

If you can get past the art style Slayers can be fun. It's not exactly deep, but the cast works and the setting and situations are enjoyable.