Recommend Me Some Anime Dammit

[Mr. G]

Anime is essentially a prejudiced term since in Japan the word applies to animation in general (Simpsons and Family Guy are anime and classified as such in video rental stores there). To name the animation made in one specific country by anime is like labeling, for instance, all american music with a certain word (like, for instance, using the word country for anything American from Taylor Swift to Slayer). It creates false generalizations. Also, to call something like RWBY anime is pure nonsense, it's just an american cartoon with some aesthetic influenced from some Japanese animated TV series, in the same way Pixar's films have a huge influence from Japanese animation but nobody calls Wall-E anime.

Here people appear to associate anime with the mecha genre, I love three mecha shows: RahXephon (2002), EVA (1995-1996) and Gurren Lagaan (2007). I have heard people talk about EVA and Lagaan before in this thread though I would say that Garren Lagaan is much better than it appears given it's near perfect execution and extremely charismatic and memorable characters.

RahXephon's opening:

It's quite similar to EVA but doesn't have as many psychologically unstable teenagers instead opting for more mature (and realistic) characters. Though since it's not as melodramatic as EVA it can be not as powerful emotional experience but many anime buffs praise it as one of the timeless masterpieces and I agree, it's maybe the best mecha series ever made (though, like EVA, it's not about the mecha).

But if you really want some classic stuff watch Conan: Boy of the Future (1978), the TV series directed by Miyazaki and widely regarded as one of his finest works. It's like the Citizen Kane of TV anime series, though the animation is slightly dated:

It's his adaptation of a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel. Great stuff.

Though currently my favorite TV animated series is Madoka (2011), I even commented about it on another topic about it here, it's truly powerful work. I especially like how it captures almost perfectly the current young adult nerd zeitgeist, nothing else hits that spot so hard and so well as Madoka. It's like EVA in it's focus on suicidal depression but a bit more subtle (not that much, though) and more mature (although all the characters look like 10 year olds), making it more powerful. Though I particularly found some transformation sequences to be too cheesy. The entire series is legally on youtube at blu ray resolution if you want to watch great stuff.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Currently watching Attack On Titan which is really quite an interesting one. Fantasy world where humanity is relegated to huge walled cities due to these large humanoids that prey on humans.

I also need to get into Steins;Gate at some point.

[SAMAS]

So another anime season has come and gone, and the new one has begun. What was and is worth watching? Well in my opinion...

[youtube][/youtube]


Gundam Build Fighters is the breakout hit of the season. Sei Iori is a young gunpla (Gundam Plastic Model kit) enthusiast who wants to follow in the footsteps of his world-famous father, who is runner-up in the world of Gunpla Battles, semi-realistic holographic battles using real Gundam Models. But while his modelling skills are top-notch, he kinda sucks at the Gunpla Battle system. Enter Reiji, a mysterious boy who happens to be really good at Gunpla battles.

This series is a lot better than it should be. Despite being even more blatantly merchandise-driven than usual. The show refuses to take itself any more seriously than it has to be, The models used in the game come from all over the series, from the original to 00, and in all kinds of recolors and customizations. Battles are all well animated, and as the series hits the world tournament, things start getting weird in fun ways.

The characters are all interesting, from the Italian ladies' man to the classmate who gets into Gunpla modelling because she has a crush on Sei to Ranba Ral (or at least a guy who both looks and sounds (same VA and everything) like him). The series is mostly free of the angst and anguish that usually characterizes Gundam's storylines, and just has fun with it's setting.

Currently airing on Crunchyroll and Youtube.


Log Horizon takes a similar idea to the recent Sword Art Online. With the newest update to the long-running MMORPG Elder Tale, thousands of players around the world find themselves stuck in the game's world in the bodies of their in-game Avatars. Shiroe, an Enchanter and Engineering Student in real life, finds himself taking a leading role in the player-driven city of Akibahara and leads efforts to deal with the world around them.

This series is a little more group-based than SAO, and also a little more political. Death isn't final, and among the things players have to deal with is the fact that the game's NPCs have all become real living, breathing people in their own right, with their own desires, fears, and agendas.


I recommended Valvrave the Liberator in the previous season. Season 2 started out strong, but IMO started to rush through it's own story too fast for it's own good. Various plot points came and went too fast, and a lot of character development would get started, only to kill the character off by the very next episode. It does actually answer most of the questions left by Season 1, but the story just feels unfinished, like they tried to compress the series down to half it's length.


Kyoukai no Kanata(Beyond the Boundary) is a fun series about ghost/spirit hunters, conspiracies and revenge.


Nagi no Asukara is a cute, dramatic series about four middle-school students who have to move to a new school the next town over when their old one closes down. Problem is, next town over is a seaside village, and they live in the sea. Not drying out is the least of their worries. The story starts with simple racial/ethnic drama, but in recent episodes moved on to attempting to prevent an ecological/spiritual disaster, and just now went through a five-year time skip.

[Vendetta]

Log Horizon takes a similar idea to the recent Sword Art Online. With the newest update to the long-running MMORPG Elder Tale, thousands of players around the world find themselves stuck in the game's world in the bodies of their in-game Avatars. Shiroe, an Enchanter and Engineering Student in real life, finds himself taking a leading role in the player-driven city of Akibahara and leads efforts to deal with the world around them.

This series is a little more group-based than SAO, and also a little more political. Death isn't final, and among the things players have to deal with is the fact that the game's NPCs have all become real living, breathing people in their own right, with their own desires, fears, and agendas.

And if you stick it out to episode 15, something might actually happen!


The new season appears to be about maximum colourful nonsense.

[Guardsman Bass]

Suisei No Gargantia is on Crunchyroll right now. The plot-line is . . . okay, if rather predictable after a while, and that symbolism gets a bit heavy-handed in later episodes. But what makes it interesting is that it actually takes the language barrier issue between two civilizations of humanity that have been separated for thousands of years seriously. It's worth it just to watch the first 2 episodes to see that in action, and it's something that carries over for the rest of the series (short as it is).

[TronPaul]

Kill la Kill: Highly tropey magical girl-ish anime that is currently airing. It's done by Trigger which is a new company which has a lot of people who made Gurren Lagaan.
Hajime no Ippo: Boxing anime that mixes seriousness and hilarity very well. Never thought I would've liked a boxing anime, but it's great fun.
Jormungand: A recent anime that reminded me a bit of Black Lagoon. I enjoyed it, but other friends haven't.
Girls und Panzer: High school girls drive tanks in a club. Makes fun of tank weaboos.
Tytania: Died without finishing the story, but after now watching LoGH I realize it shares some plot/concepts with it. I enjoyed it.
Battle Fairy Yukikaze: If I remember correctly it was a bit of a mind fuck, but really fun. Heard about it from Scottish Ninja.
Gurren Lagaan: Mecha with big feels and bigger characters. You'll learn why Row Row Fight the Power got so popular.

Redline: A drug trip of an anime movie where the protagonist drives a transam on the Nazi Cyborg planet in an illegal race. Some of the most amazing art I've seen. You'll be giddily smiling the entire movie.

Seconding Eva, Black Lagoon, LoGH, FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Full Metal Panic

[SAMAS]

Log Horizon takes a similar idea to the recent Sword Art Online. With the newest update to the long-running MMORPG Elder Tale, thousands of players around the world find themselves stuck in the game's world in the bodies of their in-game Avatars. Shiroe, an Enchanter and Engineering Student in real life, finds himself taking a leading role in the player-driven city of Akibahara and leads efforts to deal with the world around them.

This series is a little more group-based than SAO, and also a little more political. Death isn't final, and among the things players have to deal with is the fact that the game's NPCs have all become real living, breathing people in their own right, with their own desires, fears, and agendas.

And if you stick it out to episode 15, something might actually happen!

Hey, there was Serara's rescue long before that!

But seriously, the original Light Novels were inspired by the essay Homesteading the Noosphere, so yeah, it's a lot more interesting in worldbuilding than battle, though there's still a fair bit of action.

[K. A. Pital]

Psycho-Pass is nice.

[generator_g1]

He's a dandy from space! From Shinichiro Watanabe and Bones...

[Vendetta]

Log Horizon takes a similar idea to the recent Sword Art Online. With the newest update to the long-running MMORPG Elder Tale, thousands of players around the world find themselves stuck in the game's world in the bodies of their in-game Avatars. Shiroe, an Enchanter and Engineering Student in real life, finds himself taking a leading role in the player-driven city of Akibahara and leads efforts to deal with the world around them.

This series is a little more group-based than SAO, and also a little more political. Death isn't final, and among the things players have to deal with is the fact that the game's NPCs have all become real living, breathing people in their own right, with their own desires, fears, and agendas.

And if you stick it out to episode 15, something might actually happen!

False alarm. Nothing happened again in episode 16, or at least nothing that involved the main characters being in any sort of jeopardy. I firmly expect something to almost happen but not quite happen in episode 18.


(Was expecting Space Dandy to be the most bonkers show this season, but then Nobunagun.....)

[Darth Yoshi]

Gundam Build Fighters

That almost sounds like Angelic Layer, but with Gundams. Am I totally off base here?

[generator_g1]

Love the new GBF intro.

[Zinegata]

Gundam Build Fighters is the breakout hit of the season.

It's actually apparently not doing spectacularly well in Japan. However, in the English-speaking world this has been an enormous hit despite being only on YouTube. Best 30 minute toy commercial series ever, and pokes fun at everything that has gone wrong with the Gundam franchise for the past two decades.

[Tandrax218]

Oh dear this is the worst instalment of gundams ever made

Its a meld of pokemon/yughiooh and gundam

Epic fail

[Zinegata]

Oh dear this is the worst instalment of gundams ever made

Its a meld of pokemon/yughiooh and gundam

Epic fail

Only at first glance. The general reaction of the English-speaking Gundam fandom had been to predict it to be the worst Gundam show ever, only to be utterly amazed at how much heart the series had. It basically established itself as one of the best Gundam series by episode 6, when the series admits to the audience that fighting with Gundam toys is in fact silly and meaningless unlike a real war, but that's precisely why people can get into a hobby and enjoy it. Gundam Build Fighters actually understands and celebrates what makes a hobby work.

In short, it's basically Gundam learning lessons from Girls Und Panzer (another sleeper hit that has tons of heart) rather than Yugi-Oh, made better by the fact that one of the overarching themes of the series is a commentary on the evils of overly commercializing a hobby.

Think about it. A thirty minute toy commercial admitting that it's bad to overly commercialize the hobby. That's about as big an apology the fandom is ever going to get for all the recent missteps in the Gundam franchise.