Curse

ShoGunTheOne · Oct 08, 2009, 11:43 PM // 23:43

Watch Death Note, FMA, FMA:Brotherhood, Evangelion, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Yuu Yuu Hakusho, Soul Eater, Elfen Lied, Mai-Hime, Rozen Maiden

most of those are not main stream, which is exactly why they're good
i still believe that once a serie's gone main stream, they start milking money from it, then you'll start seeing fillers and flash-backs every 2 episodes

Winterclaw · Oct 08, 2009, 11:52 PM // 23:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abedeus

What? Who would want to watch a dubbed version? It's usually censored and a lot is lost in the process.

Eh. As long as I can get the just of it, it's no big deal.

I don't buy that "it's gotta be in the original language" garbage for popular entertainment. Frankly it's annoying to have to read in a medium where vocal dialogue is supposed to be heard.

Burst Cancel · Oct 09, 2009, 07:37 AM // 07:37

Lucky Star is a dangerous recommendation, given that it's targeted towards an otaku audience. It's a mediocre show at best if you don't understand the culture and various anime/manga references.

I think Haruhi, Death Note, Evangelion, FMA, Code Geass, etc. are overrated. Ghost in the Shell and Last EXILE are solid, but somewhat dated. Nearly all of the shows airing in the last three years were utter garbage - take a look at this most recent season: Kampfer? Nyan Koi? Bantorra? Sacred Blacksmith? 11eyes? Sequels for some of the shittiest shows out there (Koihime Musou, Kanokon, Asura Cryin', White Album, etc.)? The industry needs to shape up and stop this embarrassing shit-shoveling.

Winterclaw · Oct 09, 2009, 08:18 AM // 08:18

FLCL > Evangelion

First part of eva was good, but it went downhill in the second half. It's kinda like watching your home team start the season strong and then miss the playoffs because they end up at .500. I couldn't watch the second half of the CG series.

Quote:

The industry needs to shape up and stop this embarrassing shit-shoveling.

I think the US industry over-expanded the past few years and licensed everything they could. Of course they licensed some of those bad shows because those are what the US fans are raving about. So now we are looking at a few years of contraction and rebuilding.

I've seen a number of anime and I don't see anything on the shelves or coming up soon (besides Moribuito and that beetrain one) that interests me.

Faer · Oct 09, 2009, 09:19 AM // 09:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burst Cancel

Ghost in the Shell and Last EXILE are solid, but somewhat dated.

The dated stuff is usually superior. Unfortunately nobody new to anime wants to watch anything too old, because it's not flashy enough. Going from GETSUGA TENSHOOOOOOUUUUUUU to delivering mail in a vanship doesn't work for the new recruits so well. :<

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterclaw

FLCL > Evangelion

First part of eva was good, but it went downhill in the second half.

Gag show better than a serious show because you couldn't understand the second half? Oh okay.

Guess everybody is entitled to their opinions.

Abedeus · Oct 09, 2009, 10:31 AM // 10:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theocrat

The dated stuff is usually superior. Unfortunately nobody new to anime wants to watch anything too old, because it's not flashy enough. Going from GETSUGA TENSHOOOOOOUUUUUUU to delivering mail in a vanship doesn't work for the new recruits so well. :<

If I had to choose - Watch Last Exile again, every single episode, or watch every Bleach episode till... let's say, the end of the first filler series, I would've chosen LE.

Usually shorter is better, because the quality is concentrated in less than 40 episodes instead of HUNDREDS of episodes.

But I do like the first arc and Saving Rukia one. They are well-balanced and... sensible.

Still, Immelman > Ichigo.

Akaraxle · Oct 09, 2009, 10:47 AM // 10:47

Well, there IS a theory that Evangelion... "recycled" itself (?)... because Gainax was running out of cash.

Yuu Yuu Hakusho is pretty interesting oldie, but later on I think it suffers from the DBZ syndrome (which is why I dropped it).

The same applies for the newer and mainstream Bleach, only interesting for me until the first filler season.

Moving away from action anime, Spice and Wolf is a pretty amazing piece of work, focused on trading in a fictional medieval world, and the playful romance between the two protagonists; planning to watch season 2 soon.

If you don't mind school uniforms and a little bit of confusion, Haruhi is a good choice and has more depth than it shows (expecially if you've read the light novels). It's recently be re-aired and enriched with additional episodes: just for the love of God, avoid Endless Eight (you'll see what I mean).

Welcome to the NHK! is a legend among anime, IMNSHO. It looks like a comedy anime, but often opens up a window to the tragedy of human condition which touches you within. Heavily recommended.

If you want to laugh hard and don't mind plenty of vulgarity, go watch the short Detroit Metal City: you'll understand a little with the intro.

Finally, if you want to cry, watch: Kanon, Air, Clannad.

Faer · Oct 09, 2009, 11:18 AM // 11:18

DMC is the greatest, most hardcore gag show ever. God tier material, surely, but not suitable for people who watch dubs over subs.

Oh, and Tentai Senshi Sun Red is pretty great as well.

The Scorpion Knight · Oct 09, 2009, 12:41 PM // 12:41

Samurai Champloo
IGPX
Kenshin

Unlucky Slayer · Oct 09, 2009, 01:24 PM // 13:24

Oh god the endless eight... It tested my will to enjoy Haruhi to the level she deserved.

That and made me rage worse than the first stretch of Naurto filler during the Time Skip. (Yes I watch Naurto go to hell. =P)

Burst Cancel · Oct 09, 2009, 03:06 PM // 15:06

Don't get me wrong, I thought Last EXILE was a great show, and I watched it several times, but in an era of HD anime broadcasts and rampant CG, newer anime viewers may not be able to see past the dated visuals. The production values were actually quite good for its time (naturally, since it was made before GONZO turned to shit). But I'm betting that most people today, if choosing between (for instance) Macross Frontier and Last EXILE, would pick Macross even though it was a terrible show overall.

I'll be blunt, I thought Evangelion was complete bullshit. I understand that a lot of people like to fap to Asuka/Rei/Katsuragi, but beyond that I could never understand why anybody could possibly like that show.

Spice and Wolf isn't completely terrible, but its main selling point to anime fans is Horo moemoe; there is otherwise absolutely nothing special about it.

I liked Air, although I'd never admit that in person. Generally speaking though, all of the visual novel shows need to die in a fire. Kyoto Animation is very good at what they do, but there's only so much that can be done when your source material is so vapid and cliched.

Samurai Champloo was good. Kenshin, not so much - unless you're talking about the Tsuiokuhen OVAs, which were excellent.

Most of the time, I find myself recommending what not to watch rather than what to watch, because there aren't a whole lot of shows I could seriously recommend in good faith. The percentage of shows worth anyone's time is almost certainly somewhere south of 1%.

Peaxh · Oct 09, 2009, 04:52 PM // 16:52

Fushigi Yuugi for a moving adventure anime.
Mahoromatic is really short but fun to read/watch.
Hyper Police is really funny if a bit adult. x_x

Winterclaw · Oct 09, 2009, 05:24 PM // 17:24

I understood the last half of evangelion. It still sucked. The follow up movie didn't exactly improve things.

ArtemisTheYounger · Oct 09, 2009, 05:30 PM // 17:30

Lots of the ones above are great. Personally, I've always liked Neon Genesis Evangelion and Trigun as well

Akaraxle · Oct 09, 2009, 10:19 PM // 22:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burst Cancel

Spice and Wolf isn't completely terrible, but its main selling point to anime fans is Horo moemoe; there is otherwise absolutely nothing special about it.

Moe aside, I think the most impressive side of S&W is how they represent the world of trading more accurately than you'd expect. I found myself pausing on different occasions to understand how Lawrence made a profit.

Vdawg1337 · Oct 09, 2009, 11:36 PM // 23:36

Trigun is good, too bad Vash is a crying pussy

Master Ketsu · Oct 10, 2009, 01:02 AM // 01:02

Boku no pico

Mesmer in Need · Oct 10, 2009, 02:24 AM // 02:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterclaw

I understood the last half of evangelion. It still sucked. The follow up movie didn't exactly improve things.

Evangelion is an interesting anime, it reminds me of the first matrix kind of. You either hate it or love it, and you generally have to watch it several times to get the full gist. I've seen it 3 full times, and I noticed certain things that I wouldn't have caught in the first watch through. It's extremely deep, especially with characters and their reactions with others and their inner feelings, but it's not for everybody.

Even though I said I never would, I am currently watching Bleach. Tbh, the real thing that attracted me was the music, and I stayed for the cool fight scenes, even though there is a lot of pointless filler and plot lines that jump around.

DreamRunner · Oct 11, 2009, 03:21 PM // 15:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burst Cancel

Most of the time, I find myself recommending what not to watch rather than what to watch, because there aren't a whole lot of shows I could seriously recommend in good faith. The percentage of shows worth anyone's time is almost certainly somewhere south of 1%.

This trend that you are generally speaking of, has started quite a long time ago. Most anime started going downhill around 4-5 years ago.

Burst Cancel · Oct 11, 2009, 08:00 PM // 20:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamRunner

This trend that you are generally speaking of, has started quite a long time ago. Most anime started going downhill around 4-5 years ago.

Anime isn't "going downhill" as part of a "trend"; the majority of shows have always been complete shit. I've been watching anime for at least a decade, and the shows back then, on average, weren't any better than the shows airing now.

Part of the issue is that anime and manga are extremely formulaic and standardized, which means that people just getting into the subculture may find it fresh or interesting, but anyone who's been watching for more than a few years has pretty much seen everything there is to see. Each genre has its own set of stock characters and plot cliches that are strictly (religiously, even) adhered to. For instance, if you put a bunch of "High School Romance Comedy" shows together and compare them, you'll find a huge degree of overlap. The characters will basically be palette-swapped versions of each other and will often be voiced by the same voice actors in very similar roles. You will find all of the standard plot elements: the beach episode, the onsen episode, the school festival episode, the Christmas episode, the New Year Shrine Visit and Afterparty episode, the Valentine's Day episode, the male lead getting locked in the gym closet with at least one female character, a male character running into (and often knocking over) the female lead and seeing her panties, etc. You can repeat this exercise for any genre.