scumble on 11/8/2009 at 13:36
Until now, I've never actually got the hang of anime at all. I recall watching a few things as a child, such as Space Firebird 2772 and something else involving a large mysterious spacecraft that I've forgotten the title of.
The other day, however, I was watching a bunch of old Transformers cartoons with my 4 year old son, and since these were animated by a Japanese animation house I started looking up other things out of curiosity. Now I find that I've got hooked into the recent Gundam 00 show and can't stop watching it, even though they're ropey streamed videos grabbed from Japanese TV. Also I started on Cowboy Bebop and found that rather entertaining.
I know there are a few anime enthusiasts around here, and thought of asking for suggestions for other shows or films out of the masses of anime out there that might be worth watching, along the lines of gundam or the less serious tone of Cowboy. I quite like the sci-fi themes in general.
ZymeAddict on 11/8/2009 at 13:46
I suppose Samurai Champloo might be a good choice. It's made by the same guy as Bebop and it takes a rather irreverent and anachronistic approach to the Samurai genre (think A Knight's Tale). They do have quite a few serious (and adult) themes, though. Also, it's not sci-fi, so I'm not totally sure if it would be your thing.
There's also the Ghost in the Shell series if you want something more cyberpunk/sci-fi, but it takes itself pretty seriously so, again, I don't know if that's something you would be interested in.
scumble on 11/8/2009 at 14:29
Incidentally, I forgot that I'd seen Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke...
I'm not entirely restricted to sci-fi - the historical or fantasy themes would interest too. I don't mind serious as long as there's at least the odd joke and the plot and characters have depth - at least that's why I enjoy Gundam 00. If it was merely a lot of pointless battle scenes involving mobile suits then I think I'd have got very bored early on.
Will probably give Samurai Champloo a try - looks quite quirky (which is good).
WingedKagouti on 11/8/2009 at 14:32
Other worthwhile anime with giant mecha/robots/sci fi themes, from serious to less serious:
Gunbuster - The story of a girl training to pilot the most powerful weapon humans have in their war against space monsters.
Bubblegum Crisis - Girls in battle suits fighting rampaging robots, somewhere between cyberpunk and sci fi.
GaoGaiGar - A Saturday morning cartoon with transforming robots, epic heroes and one of the biggest hammers ever (GaoGaiGar FINAL episode 8).
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - If I scream my battlecry loudly enough while charging headlong into this horde of enemy mecha, I'll beat them all! It's more or less stated in the anime that the TTGL universe works that way if you're a human.
Now, if you don't mind teen angst, there are a couple of others you could watch:
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Hades Project Zeorymer
Dangaioh
Matthew on 11/8/2009 at 14:35
Not enough Patlabor itt.
demagogue on 11/8/2009 at 16:25
Not an easy task to recommend anime with so much out there, but I like -
On the comedy side -
- Anything with Lupin III ... a lot of movies; was it ever a series? Anyway, he's like an Austin Powers thief, set in our world but high-tech and very funny.
- Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (actually a comedy), high-school, but has a fantasy twist that's interesting.
- If you want to watch some good anime with your son, try Doraemon; it's so endearing (I have the good excuse of it being good for Japanese study).
On the more serious but good side -
- Full Metal Alchemist - about a phenom guy that's a master alchemist in his world and part of the military's alchemy academy.
- Big O - has big robots; the stories are good even aside from the big robot battles
- Last Exile - Steampunk, about a group of pilots connected to a massive floating battleship, with a war going on between two nations; but their capitain turns rogue and goes independent.
Sulphur on 11/8/2009 at 20:03
Seconding Samurai Champloo, because it has some of the funniest shit I've seen in a while - for an episode-sized curveball, try Ep. 23: Baseball Blues. The serious episodes are also quite well-done, artistically and thematically. It's a series that's a real pleasure to watch.
Metropolis is also worth a watch, inspired by the Fritz Lang silent movie of the same name and very pretty to look at.
When it comes to anime series, I'd recommend Darker Than Black and Mushishi because they're vehicles for some damn fine storytelling. Darker Than Black is more of an action-oriented concept piece, and Mushishi is a slower, reflective, but still emotionally gut-punching piece of work when it wants to be.
If you wanna see some warped shit, there's the usual stuff like Serial Experiments Lain and Neon Genesis Evangelion. NGE actually starts off as a pretty normal mecha show, but slowly starts changing the game. It's an intriguing watch, with interesting characters, but Shinji can be an annoying, angsty, wet noodle of a protagonist that grrrraates against your nerves sometimes.
ZymeAddict on 11/8/2009 at 20:26
Still don't think I half understand what was supposed to be going on in Serial Experiments Lain. When it comes to obfuscation, it's like Donnie Darko on crack. Actually, it's just on crack period.
Taffer36 on 11/8/2009 at 20:36
There's only two people that I've ever been interested in watching their work. One is Hayao Miyazaki, and the other is Shinichiro Watanabe (Samurai Champloo, which many have already brought up).
Eshaktaar on 11/8/2009 at 21:52
Paprika comes heartily recommended. It's a visual masterpiece.
