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Essential Anime
What follows is a kinda-in-order summary of the best Anime I've seen lately. Its not complete (I didn't even manage to assemble a complete Top 10) but its a good sampling of my tastes (yours will vary I'm sure ;)
Lain Perhaps the best Anime I've seen thus far. The story of a young girl, a drug culture, the future of the net, etc etc. It'll leave your jaw on the floor. It makes the internet look unreal but somehow believable at the same time.
Perfect Blue A psychological thriller worthy of hitchcock. It starts off slow, but the last half hour is a directorial maspterience. Losely follows a 'Pop Idol's transition from singer to actress, while surrounded by a stalker, celebrity, management, directors, writers, and eventually descends into insanity. Not for kids.
Cowboy Bebop The most badass sci-fi western I've seen. Visually and Aureally astounding. Bounty Hunters, Drugs, Gambling, Girls.
Trigun Another western, but this one is actually sorta in the west. Goofy cowboy guy is actually an invincible mega hero.
Ninja Scroll Another one not for kids... its your basic Ninjas save the world story. A male and female ninja and a crackpot old man do battle with evil clans and demons.
Dragonball Z Sometimes it moves slow, but this is the WWF of Anime. Big creatures fight and get super powers and yell at each other. The charachters are fun, and while the animation isn't up to snuff with most of the other titles I've mentioned here, its just fun, and its on Cartoon Network so its accessible: Just don't take it seriously.
Battle Athletes Another silly adventure. Cheerful girls undergo intense training to become 'Cosmo Beauty' which is sorta like Miss America++. Takes a long time for the plot to become clear, but there are some great charachters here and a lot of hilarious sequences I mean, it starts out wiht little girls racing accross antarctica, towing steam rollers through a mine field. Another fun one, but don't expect the meaning of life or anything.
Battle Angel Cyborgs and their doctors in the future. A cool world where spines are valuable, and a technological 'Heaven' floats above the hell in which the story takes place, dumping its trash atop them. Visually interesting, but the world the charachters inhabit is really the coolest part for me.
Allright, thats what I've seen in the last few months. What do you guys think? What else is out there thats worth seeing? What's your favorite?
Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku - it's all really good stuff.
Ozamu Tezuka was the best at manga/anime. He's dead now, but he was responsible for a wide variety of classics.
I also like Key, the Metal Idol. In fact, I'd recommend that as my single favourite anime programme.
Ghost in the shell is by far my favorite Anime. I have the DVD version which provides English/Japanese Language and English/Japanese subtitles. The animation in this thing is beautiful--as high quality as you will find for a movie produced in 1996.
This futuristic sci-fi flick is just as much of a thinker movie as it is action. I had to watch it a couple times to "get it" so to say. The underlying question in the movie is concerned with what human existance actually is.
The film won the 1997 World Animation Celebration Awards for "Best Theatrical Feature Film" and "Best Director of a Theatrical Feature Film". Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs up too.
As much as it is against my policy to respond to flames, your comments reflect badly on anime.
.... cute... in a rather distrubing way. (You know... there are anime characters that are older then that.... Armitage just bugs me... )But the entire thing that seperates Anime from Disney is plot plot plot plot and more plot. Disney, sad to say, still does better body dynamics and better fluid animation then anything I have ever seen in Anime (btw, which is over 500 titles or thereabout).
Animation is nice. GiTS is the basis for the matrix (which has been publicly awknowledged by the creators) and Armitage III is
The later two titles that you mention really have no creativity or plot in them. Armitage III is a bad rip of Gibson, GiTS is a complete bastardization of the manga. (Matsumoto Shirow's Manga is excellent tho, and GiTS 2 is in the works).
(In other words, stick to the above is you just want action action action).
If you want plot, stick with EVA, Excel, Sol Bianca (the new OVA series is _awesome_ graphics wise, but the characters don't click yet), Slayers, Kenshin etc.
Macross Plus is also in that area, but much more for Yokko Kano's _awesome_ sound track then any other reason.
Finaly, a friend has pointed out to me that I completly neglected any mention of Shoujo anime. (They run in a magizine targeted at women, rather then men). Series I strongly suggest here (which are much harder to get your hands on)
X - Shoujo is _owned_ by a female group named CLAMP. That is all there is too it. X was a incredible manga, that was very poorly translated into a anime (something like 10 volumes of manga into 1 2hr movie). However, the animation is gorgeous, and the plot is interesting. Not for kids.
KareKano (sorry can't remember full title).
Anno's (the guy who did Eva) latest project, this one delves into masks that people wear, experencies, first loves, etc. It really is quite good, and very different from the standard Anime direction.
Kodomo no Omocha (Child's Toy).
Child's toy is about as insane as Anime ever gets. This series is like riding a roller coaster of humour, and then randomly crashing into brick walls of angst.
Fushigi Yuugi:
This is really a shonen (guys) series in disguise, but has some awesome angsty moements.
Here are some more recomendations:
Sol Bianca -> Computer Generated Anime. It is quite pretty, but the characterization and the story are not solid yet (first two episodes). The original series is excellent as well.
BGC 2040 ->
BGC is Anime's first Cyber Punk series. The new series is good, but nowhere near as cutting edge as the first series.
Excel Saga->
See my other post.
Eden's Bowey->
This series is decent, as is popular in Japan.
Nadesico ->
Excellent. Usual Big-Mecha fair, but solid character dynamics, and excellent plot line. Be sure to watch the movie as well.
Spriggin->
This will be released in theaters next year. Awesome animation, plot needs significant help.
Nadia of Blue Waters->
Classic. Jules Verne approach to Anime.
And there is always the classics as well:
Robotech -> Bastardization of three different anime series.
Nausciaa -> Pretty good. Nausciaa, Mononoke Hime, and Laputa are very very similar, both in animation and story. Of the three of them, I love Laputa. Done by Studio Ghibili.
I can hear the sea -> Very underated, excellent Ghibli anime, very different from Nausciaa, Mononoke Hime, Laptuta etc.
On your mark -> A music video done by Ghibili. Hard to get your hands on, but well worth it.
Blue Sub 9 -> Computer generated, good story, good character dynamics. All in all a very solid anime. Don't ever watch this unsubbed.
Gundam 0080/0083 -> Very good Gundam series that are released over here. Wing has been airing on TV and has done very well.
In the near future, Tenchi Muyo, Slayers, Blue Sub 9, Card Capture Sakura (which will be reneamed) and many other anime's will be on TV. Gundam wing is the most popular series ever on Cartoon Network, and Sci-Fi and CN are looking to cash in.
Well, the movie is definitely good, and for those on a budget (read: not Rob), it is a good choice. However, if you can get the series, it's a little more immersive, and gives you more of the good stuff.
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For the more fantasy-inclined viewer (no, not THAT kind of fantasy, you twisted and sick person, you!), try the Slayers and Record of Lodoss War. Slayers is a bit lighthearted, but fun. It has 3 seasons out so far (best viewed in order), as well as the movie (on DVD and VHS; seasons are only on VHS, sadly). For a more serious fantasy, try Record of Lodoss War (VHS and DVD). It's fairly long (6 tapes, or two discs) and is a compilation of a season. VERY good, though.
The show is very silly but it always cracks me up. It also has very deep character development. Be sure to check it out. (Make sure you start with season one so you can truely see the character development)
As a pretty hard core fan, some of my current picks may not even be available yet this side of the Pacific.
Serial Experiments Lain: A must for any Slashdotter. If you liked The Matrix, you'll love Lain. Watch this all at once.
Martian Successor Nadesico: The uber-parody of all Sci-Fi anime. Any Linux user will immediately enjoy the antics of Ruri-Ruri.
Excel Saga: Something to watch if you want to laugh your ass off for 30 minutes. Lots of parody, lots of pranks, and an ending theme sung by a dog.
Slayers: If you're into role playing games, Slayers is the ultimate parody of an RPG. Cities are blown up by an irresponsible sorceress, Lina, as she robs the rich and gives to herself.
Cowboy Bebop: Yes yes yes. This show rules! A very cool show indeed, with kick ass music.
Juubei-Chan: This one is just very silly with good animation.
Geobreeders: An interesting 3 Part OAV series featuring computer/monster cats!
Macross Plus: A classic. Pure and simple.
Ah! Megami-sama (aka Oh My Goddess!): Another classic. Keiichi is one lucky fellow. Also check out the Mini-Goddess TV shows for laughs.
TaihoShichauZo (aka You're Under Arrest!): It is a fun thing to watch.
Cardcaptor Sakura: The only Shoujo title I can really stomach. This one is coming to US TV pretty soon, but I recommend the original Japanese language.
Stuff To Avoid:
Pokemon
DragonBall Z
Sailor Moon
Any "Alternate Universe" Gundam (ie Gundam Wing)
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
Actually this is not true. Grave of the Fireflies was directed by Isao Takahata. Princess Mononoke was directed by Hayao Miyazaki. These two have very distinct styles of direction in my opinion and should not be glommed together because they both work out of Studio Ghibli.
Which reminds me, one of the best anime movies ever was Takahata's Only Yesterday. This is possibly one of the most touching movies I have ever seen. A Japanese office woman travels to the countryside on vacation to revisit nature, and she is visited by many random memories from her youth. This movie is the pinnacle of Takahata's and Studio Ghibli's many depictions of childhood.
Because the memories of her childhood are not anchored to a continuos past storyline, they play directly on her modern life in unexpected ways. The also seem to abstract the nature of chldhood far more succinctly than even a movie such as Totoro. The use of memory in the place of fantasy, and then anchoring those to a life which is possibly not the one the woman would have chose, brings out those universal emotions of childhood in all of us.
Plus it has a happy ending, unlike Grave. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. Unfortunately, it is not released in the US of A and you will have to keep an eye out for Studio Ghibli animation film festivals to be able to see it (of course, a movie like this should be seen on the big screen anyway. Miyazaki has been said that watching his movies on TV the same as listening to the soundtrack. I wholeheartedly agree.)
Peace,
23_Elders
For classic comedy check out:
Ranma 1/2, the first season (18 episodes) because after that it begins to really suck.
Good shojo SF:
Please Save My Earth (one of my favorites).
Don't forget Miyazaki!
especially, Nausicaa and Laputa
and of course,
Evangelion! (one of the best few years)
don't ignore these classics!
If your look for good anime music check out:
Macross Plus
Escaflowne
Any of the Miyazaki's films
Other good ones:
Jojo's bizarre adventure (short and weird, but good)
Dragon Half (really funny!)
Light hearted cute girl anime:
Devil Hunter Yohko.
Dirty Pair Flash.
Battle Athletes
Battle Athletes Victory (longer better series)
You're Under Arrest.
Romance anime:
Oh My Goddess!
My Dear Marie.
Episodes 5 and 6 of Here is Greenwood.
Sailor Moon (very long, awful in dub version)
Pure cheesecake
Cutey Honey
Aika
Megami Paradise
Not so light cute girl anime:
Sol Bianca
Dirty Pair (not flash)
Anime with female heroines over age 30 (rare in anime):
Phantom Quest Corp (very ghostbusters like)
City Hunter.
Princess Mononoke
Sci-Fi without so many battling robots.
Ghost in the Shell.
Armitage III (avoid the one with Kiefer Sutherland/Elizabeth Berkeley)
Macross Plus (ok, I know, but the robots are immaterial to the real story).
Slash and Gore anime:
Mermaid Forest.
Vampire Hunter D.
Really silly anime:
Episodes 1 through 4 of Here is Greenwood
Slayers
Roujin Z (why too much spending on healthcare is bad).
Fantasy:
Record of Lodoss War
RG Veda
Surreal/Creepy:
Serial Experiments Lain.
Perfect Blue.
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Vampire Miyu
Well, that should occupy you for some time.
I have been meaning to write lain up for a long long time. After all, any anime that revolves around IPv7 needs to be mentioned.
Here is a quick list of my favorite commedy:
Excel Saga - This is about as wacky as things get. ADV has this series, so it will be a while before anyone can get it. It makes fun of Aliens, Titanic, Anime in General, Star wars etc. If you can't take large doses of suger. Don't watch this.
Slayers - Final Fantasy with a sense of humour. Very slapstick, but the second season (or series since seasons usually are not consecutive in Japan) has the best ending of any Anime I have seen.
And of course, the Usual batch: Ranma 1/2, Tenchi Muyo, Urusai Yatsura etc.
Serious Trippy Anime:
Lain - Again. Need to write up a review for Slashdot.
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Rumour constantly states that MTV and Sci-Fi are trying to air this, but ADV won't let them because of the cuts they would have to make. Mix giant robots, the angst of adolecence, and a good amount of religon and philosophy. This series can be amazingly depressing, and the last two episodes need serious help, but this is literature in action.
For the more slice and dice fans, Ruroni Kenshin (also known as Samurai-X) recently was picked up. I strongly suggest the OVA series from ADV (which will be available on DVD as Samurai-X). Warning. This series is massivly gorey, and angsty, but it is the best anime I have ever seen, bar none.
Battle Athlese Victory, Tenchi Muyo, Photon, El-Hazard and Dual are the AIC "guy surrounded by many girls" anime which are very excellent as well.
Some good resources for anime:
Anime Web Turnpike This is the best Anime link site in general. Slayers Universe is a amazing Slayers Page. is a awesome store, which also covers anime news.
Check the whole series, not just the all-in-one volume. Also, someone else mentioned "The Professional." Definitely find and watch it, and any others with Golgo 13. Good, good stuff.
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Let me just say one thing for those who haven't researched anime very much. There's a lot of anime in different categories. Yes there's some pretty
;-) (some consider the heroine very annoying)
perverted stuff but there's plenty of sci-fi, action, romance, and dramatic anime too.
Many people have already listed several series/shows but here's my "favorites" list:
Anything by Miyazaki: thought provoking, stunning
visuals, excellent story telling. Examples: Mononoke Hime, Kiki's Delivery Service, Naussica.
Recca no Honou (Flame of Recca): the anime isn't as good as the manga (the comic books) but it's a pretty straight forward ninja/fantasy based action series.
Taiho Shichauzo (You're Under Arrest): light comedy based on the (mis)adventures of a local police precinct.
Bubblegum Crisis (original and 2040): one of the most popular 80's series, a cyberpunk thriller. 2040 came out a couple of years ago and is a remodified verion.
Silent Moebius: a gothic sci-fi thriller.
Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyou (His and Her Circumstances): high school based comedy that has its introspective moments.
Ranma 1/2: a wacky comedy, great laughs.
Urusei Yatsura: a wacky comedy, great laughs but a lot of cultural based humor
Fushigi Yuugi: a pretty good adventure series, a popular show aimed at a young girl audience (ducks for cover from the flamewars associated with the main heroine
Shin Seiki Evangelion: thought provoking, introspective, good sci-fi.
Gundam: action based sci-fi that spawned several series
Macross: action based sci-fi that spawned several series
Gunbuster: action based sci-fi
Slayers: action based dungeons and dragons style comedy that spawned several series
Before I get into the recommendations, there are a few things I'd like to say. I was actually a bit reluctant to post this at first. For one, judging by the 650+ posts already up, I didn't think that my suggestions would be original or insightful, and I also didn't want to overly influence anyone with my pre-determined convictions about things such as dubbing or certain series. I generally think that any good reviews anime in general gets is beneficial, because for too long it has been stigmatized as pornographic or violent cartoons, without any thought to the incredibly complex and intricate plots, beautiful artwork, and simply moving characterization some series express. I hesitate before calling it cartoons because it groups what is a work of art with production crap such as Scooby Doo. Of course, not all anime is top notch, but some, in my experience, is even better than the $140 million Hollywood movies (in fact, a lot of it is.)
It really disheartens me when people cite Dragon Ball Z (FUNimation/Cartoon Network Style) as an anime they've seen. The FUNimation english adaptation is perhaps the worst I've ever seen. I strongly suggest, if you have even the slightest liking of the English version, that you search around and find Fansubs of DBZ. (For those of you who are ill-informed, fansubs are anime, and sometimes other imports, that are subtitled by fans of the show, shows, or just anime in general. The advantage of fansubs being that they are cheaper, usually $25 for 4 tapes or so, completely uncut, and still contain the original japanese voice actors.) I also might note that fansubs of anime that has already been released in the U.S. is not wholly legal, but I don't think charging $29.95 before shipping and handling is all that legal either, or shouldn't be.
If you are interested, I'm fairly sure Planet Namek (http://www.planetnamek.com) still distributes fansubs, and if not, they do have links to other DBZ fansubbers. And not just DBZ can be gotten demi-legally through fansubs. Almost any anime you want can be found. Think of fansubbers as the open sourcers of the anime community and FUNimation as the Microsoft. Although, not all distributers are that evil, ADV, Pioneer, and others all do good jobs, but they still cost more than they should (Can anyone explain to my why Subtitles cost more than Dubbed?!? Talk about logical fallacies...)
Besides the FUNi DBZ, all the other animes written about by CmdrTaco get at least a B+ in my book. If you get the chance to watch the Cowboy Bebop intro scene -- it's just plain funny.
On to my recommendations:
- First comes Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shin Seiki Evangelion), a very intricate and complex story by Hideaki Anno about a young man named Shinji who forced to pilot an enormous biological robot under the command of his draconian father. This is possibly the best serialized anime I have ever seen (bet you haven't heard that before =P). Its plot follows 26 episodes and 2 movies, starting at what seems like a simply boy-piloting-giant-robot fighting series into a teen angst filled story about love, triumph, the meaning of life, and the existance of humanity. One of the greatest things about this series is that you can watch it a million times and pick up new foreshadowing, clues, and religious overtones every time (this series uses a lot of religious allusions, which is one of of its best features if you like that sort of thing.) NGE also features and excellent soundtrack, with some of the more catchy tunes I've heard. Beware watching large segments of this series at once: the Cicada sound gets _very_ irritating, and it will probably leave your mind lightly crispy. After you're done watching it (AND NOT BEFORE!) I strongly recommend you go read the fanfiction by those guys over at Eyrie productions (http://www.eyrie.net) called Neon Exodus Evangelion, which provides a very captivating spin on the series.
- Next on the list comes anything by the incredible manga artist Rumiko Takihashi. Her works include Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkukou, and Urusei Yatsura, all of which are quite good. Most of her stories focus on comedy between somehow afflicted lovers, friends, or those stuck in awkward situations. Her works can be quite touching at times and can make even the stiffest upper lip crack a smile.
- Of course, the obligatory Ghost in the Shell comes in here. Interesting story about an android and the computer virus she loves, or something like that. Read other people's reviews for more in-depth.
- One of the less heralded, but no less great works is Peacock King, an interesting story about demons and all sorts of cool stuff there. One of the characters in this story led me and my friends to come up with a skill called "The Ability to Look Like a Bad-Ass", rated on a scale of 1 to 50, its how bad ass you look, reguardless of your actual skill or anything like that. See the anime, and you will understand.
- One comedy series that definitely needs menion is Tenchi-Muyo, a Rumiko Takahashi-esque story about a young man named Tenchi, beautiful alien space pirates, and all sorts of damn funny hijinks.
- While we're on the subject of comedy, perhaps the funniest anime series I've seen is Slayers. It's about a young sorceress who goes around and adventures. Think: DnD. It has a giant fish with legs, 'nuff said.
- If you like guns and shooting and Matrix-style fighting, check out Gunsmith Cats. Chicks with Guns. Funny and fun.
- I almost left out one of the first anime I ever saw, Guyver which was also made into a few American movies. It's a bit old school 80s in its animation, and the plot isn't super-intense, I still like it, and think it's worth watching. Some nice DBZ-style action and evil-megacorporation type menace with the thrown in alien over power for flavor.
- While I'm remembering good anime, BubbleGun Crisis is one of the neatest 80s mechanized fighting evil corporation type anime out there. This is actually just an 8 OAV (Original Animation Video, i.e. released straight to video) set, but still quite good. It also features poofy hair and 80s J-pop music if that floats your boat. On the other side it has very neato technology that'll keep you hooked afterwards. There's also an RPG based on it.
- An excellent movie to watch is Macross 7. It has a decent Mindfuck factor (a scale of 1 to 11 of how confusing it is; Evangelion being 11, Scooby Doo being 0) and some of the _most_beautiful_animation_ I've seen, ever. A definite watch if you can find it. Good music too.
Christ there's so many out there that's good, it's almost impossible to list them all. These few are just some that I can list off the top of my head. If you really want more information and many, many, many more reviews of hundreds, even thousands of anime, check out AniPike (http://www.anipike.com).- the Pfish
Jake
Dating: while( 1 ){ call_girl(); get_rejected(); drink_40(); } return 0;
It is absolutely imperative that you find and watch The Vision of Escaflowne, which is scheduled to be released on DVD shortly. This anime was created by Shoji Kawamori (whose most famous credits were for Macross, the TV series that became Robotech in the US), and Yoko Kanno, possibly the world's greatest living composer. I should preface this by saying that Escaflowne is not a typical anime by any means. This is an almost operatic story that constantly builds on the power of fate in an alternate universe. The characterizations are incredibly strong; the animation is fluid and beautiful; and when the music starts playing you'll forget you're even watching the television. There are 26 half-hour episodes that run a total of about 11 hours. Be warned: once you start watching, it's nearly impossible to avoid watching the entire 11 hours in one sitting. Oh yeah - Shoji Kawamori and Yoko Kanno also made Macross Plus, which is very good.
Well,
Obviously, we are starting with the two undisputed classics of the genre. The one that brought Japanese animation to the west in a big way more than a decade ago was
AKIRA, which still remains pretty much undisputed in terms of dramaturgical development and on-screen dynamics. Although an Anime masterpiece, it falls short of the outstanding graphic novels, which are quite possibly the best example of how to develop a story-arc in a graphic novel. (probably sharing that honour with Watchmen)
Then, seven or so years after Akira, Ghost in the Shell updated Anime in a way that struck a chord with western audiences in the outgoing 90s. At heart little more than a glorified action story, it didn't quite match Akira's superior characters and settings, but still belongs to the best action films of the 90s, bar none. And the animation is pretty much as good as it gets.
Anime feature films culminated with last year's Mononoke Hime, aka 'Princess Mononoke' in the US. Being an intricate, multi-layered story about man's interaction with nature and the world around us, it succeeded in ways that the gun-slinging examples mentioned above could not. There are no glorified mecha-style shootouts in Mononoke Hime, and it's not as action-packed as most others, but its story development succeeds where others would normally fail. Interestingly, unlike many other Anime products, Mononoke Hime also forsakes the display of super-villains bent on taking over the world in favour of more ambiguous shades of grey. Nobody should win, and everybody is right, in a certain way. Simplistic 'real' views of the world, maybe, but very successful. Er, and the US version is dubbed by Claire Danes, amongst others, if that's your thing.
With feature films out of the way, the best example of serialized Anime is undoubtedly Neon Genesis Evangelion (beating out the much more cartoony Appleseed, for instance), which strived to provide a cinematic experience in Anime format. Yeah, Eva does feature large Robots shooting the hell out of each other, but that's - blessedly - kept down to a minimum. The story arcs succeed reasonably well, and provide an experience of a scope and depth that most other Anime simply cannot match. One of the most popular Anime series in the west, deservedly so, and comparatively easy to get on tape. (not sure about DVD, but I'm certain it's on its way)
So much for that round-up. There's a lot of other good stuff as well, for instance the animated 'Street Fighter' full-length Anime film, which is superior to the Van Damme live-actioner in so many ways it's not funny. The ones above should serve as a good introduction to Anime - Akira and Ghost in the Shell are certainly the best ways to start, and probably not too difficult to get from your local video store.
Alex T-B