In need of an anime nerd

[Blake_T]

my gf and i are lookin for an entertaining way to kill a few evenings.

on occasion we'll watch an anime series over a week or so but i rate low on the anime nerd-o-meter and need someone with intense nerdlinger prowess to help give some recommendations.

stuff we have watched is pretty much the common stuff... looking for some other stuff that might be a fun watch. the majority of my anime is stuff i found for dirt cheap at pawn shops or import bootlegs, but now i'm willing to spring for something for real.

series we have watched so far:
macross saga
macross 7
dot.hack sign
dot.hack legend of the twilight
dot.hack roots
final fantasy unlimited
neongenesis evnagelion (i still don't understand what happened in the last 2 episodes...)
gravion and gravion zwei
vandread
cowboy bebop

movie length stuff:
akira
macross plus
ninja scroll
grave of the fireflies
neo tokyo
project a-ko
vampire hunter d (heh... way dated)
ghost in the shell
appleseed
perfect blue
princess mononoke
spirited away

basically...

lookin for stuff that's got a good story. can be serious or light, but prefer serious... nothing too teeny bopper.

[brennan]

I don't watch anime at all, but you should definitely check out FLCL. Only anime I've watched in years, and it's brilliant. It's also only 6 episodes long so it's more like a "movie".

[some call me...tim?]

I'm not FULL ON anime nerd, but I've definitely seen a fair amount. I haven't had the time to sit down and watch a full series for a long time, so might be a bit out of touch. If you liked Cowboy Bebop, you gotta check out Samurai Champloo. Its hard for me to pick one above the other, but I think I like Champloo better, just because I didn't feel as sad at the end as I did with Bebop. I've seen a few episodes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and if you liked the movies, they do a good job of adapting it for TV. A long time fave of mine, but admittedly a bit teeny-bopper in parts is Initial D...kinda cool b/c its actually in a real world setting with real world cars, and supposedly realistic physics (only watch it in original Japanese though--the dub version is cheeseball). I also enjoyed Last Exile, up until the ending...I forget what it was I didn't like about it, but it was a good series until that, if you're into the steampunk kind of thing.

As for films, anything Miyazaki is genius, in my opinion, I'd recommend Castle in the Sky if you liked Mononoke and Spirited Away. Paprika is supposed to be a good one too, but I haven't seen it yet. Supposed to be very cerebral though. I feel like there are others that I'm forgetting, but those are some that stand out in my book.

[worthdan]

ive seen even less anime than you, but ninja scroll also has a short series thats pretty good.

[Blink]

If you haven't seen FLCL that'd be my first recommendation. Best word for it is odd ball, but I was laughing so hard, so much when I first saw it through. Only 6 episodes in the series you can't go wrong.

Another one from the same company is Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, but its waaaay out there towards the end, and I'd say FLCL is better, but a bit more confusing. Its much easier if you don't try to understand the details.

There is also the movie Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz. It tends to drawl on with ethical dialogue at some points, but its easier than going through the anime, which is also good, namely towards the end.

Last there is Samurai Champloo, probably the easiest to watch and the coolest, exactly what you'd expect from the creators of Cowboy Bebop. 26 episodes I think.

Say it with me:

Furi!

Curi!

[Blake_T]

what is FLCL like?

my gf and i went to best buy tonight and were browsin the section reading backs on stuff like what i used to do renting videos back when i used to rent videos.

i was tryin to remember stuff i'd been recommended in the past... a few that came to mind:
outlaw star
she, the ultimate weapon
ah! my goddess

one that kinda seemed interesting was "speed grapher" and i watched a couple of epi's online and it seems dark and twisted in a way that movies nowadays are unable to pull off anymore... along with cynical undertones and social commentary on greed, corruption, etc. that tend to flow along my train of thought.

[Blink]

FLCL is perverted first and foremost, (plot is just about built around this) but in a funny tasteful way. One of those animes that stands out, namely because its only 6 episodes long, and the animation itself looks very well done and clean. Oh and one of the random things about it is that guitars are the weapon of choice for seemingly no reason at all, so kinda up your alley. Its one of those things you can watch again and again, understanding it better each time, since it has about as confusing a background plot as Neon Genesis (classic anime, up there with Akira, but hands down the most confusing I've seen, I don't even want to go through trying to figure it out again). My favorite anime, and also my favorite soundtrack of ANY anime hands down. The Pillows are one of my favorite bands as well.

Summary: depressed/bored kid in boring town gets the shock of his life when some lady comes in to town out of nowhere on a vespa and smacks him with a guitar. Then things start coming out of his head every once in a while lol...

[Leopard]

request #1 for thread deletion

[stoneman]

Second.

[SkaBob]

HUGE anime nerd, here...have some suggestions!

If you like robots or dogfights:
Macross Zero (macross with 3d computer rendered mech fights)
Zone of Enders
Eureka 7
Battle Fairy Yukkikaze
Appleseed (there's an old one and a new one, both are good, the new one is primarily computer renders other than a few hand-drawn cutscenes by the guy who animated the old one. Personally I recommend the new one HIGHLY, if for no other reason than the first 10 minutes is a cool fight scene. And by cool, I mean totatlly sweet.)

If you like fight scenes:
Samurai 7
Noir
Afro Samurai (american production, samuel l jackson does some work, REALLy good for american 'anime')
Scrapped Princess

If you like Cowboy Bebop:
Coyote Ragtime Show
Eureka 7

If you like something strange, but hilarious:
FLCL
Guu (full title is "Jungle wa itsumo, hale noche Guu", translated "The Jungle was nice, then came Guu". This is probably the strangest anime EVER, but well worth a watch)
Ebichu the housekeeping Hamster (LOTS of perversion in this one, don't watch it around kids)
SD-Gundam (Gundam, with all the characters in super-deformed cute mode)

If you like story:
ANYTHING by Studio Ghibli (Princess Mononoke, Steamboy, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and some others).
Samurai 7
Anything with the names Captain Harlock or Queen Emeraldas in the title
Anything in the Harlock/Emeraldas/Galaxy Express universe (Galaxy Express 999 and it's sequels, and the newer series Galaxy Railways)
Scrapped Princess

I dunno...there's TONS more...feel free to ask me about any of these or for other recommendations...these are just the ones that came up as the best off the top of my head. There are other PHENOMINAL anime out there that I've seen that I'm just drawing a blank on names for... heh

[some call me...tim?]

Samurai 7
Noir
Afro Samurai (american production, samuel l jackson does some work, REALLy good for american 'anime')

Oh yeah, Samurai 7...that's a good one too...though I don't think I finished it for some reason, probably just got distracted. Pretty cool though, its a sci-fi/steampunk/fantastical anime adaptation of Seven Samurai.

Afro Samurai is definitely cool too, and not many episodes either. Some beautiful artwork and a dark, gritty vibe, plus the score is done by Rza which fits well with the feel of the series.

Just remembered Berserk as one I enjoyed several years ago. Its a good violent fight scene one, but I remember the characters having surprisingly more depth than I was expecting.

[SkaBob]

Another couple ones with good fight scenes and utterly farked up stories are "Kite" and "Gunslinger Girl".

Also "Elfen Leid" which is just about the most graphically violent anime I've ever seen.

Hellsing is really good vampire anime.

[SkaBob]

neongenesis evnagelion (i still don't understand what happened in the last 2 episodes...)

hehehe I just came across this reading closer and can actually shed some light...

SPOILER ALERT: If you plan on watching this series and don't want any details of what we're talking about, ignore this post.

So there's the whole bit about "ZOMG it was all in my head because I have no friends and I'm pathetic!", right? Well...the ACTUAL ending is seen in the Second(?, whichever's not the it was in my head and flashbacks one) 'End of Eva' movie. The world ends, Shinji strangles Asuka, all sorts of hell breaks loose, etc...

This is how the coming of the "it was all in my head" ending was explained to me. Doing a quick google search to try and find out whose decision it was I can't seem to find a mention of it, but it makes more sense than "ZOMG DEATH! Oh wait, it was all in my head! ZOMG END OF WORLD!", so I'm still sticking with it hehe

Someone in the release chain, either on the Japanese or American end said, "wait a minute! American stories all have happy endings! Americans will lose their little minds!". The "It was all in my head" ending was then made for the American release, and the actual ending was shifted into the second(?) "End of Eva" movie. If I remember correctly there's only one "End of Eva" movie in the Japanese release.

Any time I lend my box set to anyone, I always tell them one thing. "If you watch the last episode, I will beat you within an inch of your life. When you want to see the ending, let me know and I'll give you the other DVD" heh

[disc junkie]

Im suprised nobody has mentioned the following film

FIST OF THE NORTH STAR

I dont watch anime at all I can count all the anime movies on one hand that I have seen, nothing against the genre really just doesnt peak my interest normally.

However this was the first anime movie I have ever seen and I have seen it several times sincem has a great story line and is a lot of fun to watch

do yourself a favor Blake and check this one out!!

[Blake_T]

hehehe I just came across this reading closer and can actually shed some light...

heh... someone tried to once but said i had to watch the other ovas and read the manga and and and and...

basically, they assumed us americans can't handle stuff and i don't blame em.

i just remember watching the last episode of neongenesis while i was sorta dozing and i was like "WTF just happened?"

and i read the back of the box and it was like "episode 23... the world has ended and..."

and i was like wtf.