Due to the fact that many of my friends–including my significant other–have turned out to have a significant interest in anime, I’ve decided to finally–after damn near five years of purpose avoiding this–give anime a shot.
Here’s the thing, though–I have no idea where to start. So, of course, I thought I’d turn to the Dopers to help me out.
I only have limited exposure to anime. I used to watch Sailor Moon, back when it aired on random channels at random times of day (here it was Channel 26–The U), and again when they started airing episodes on the Cartoon Network. I thought it was okay entertainment, even though it was rather on the fluff side. Other than that, though, there’s been no exposure whatsoever.
Basically, I’m looking for something with a good plot (not fluff based). Something that doesn’t have the sole purpose of “let’s see some fights!” Something that isn’t quite so like Sailor Moon. Also, I’m looking for something that I wouldn’t have to import or download on something like Kazaa or Limewire (these things don’t work on my computer)–in other words, something I could maybe pick up at Best Buy or a decent specialty store. Also, it’d be nice if it were pretty… :).
And, um, no hentai. Also, I’m currently refusing to watch Dragonball Z under any circumstances (something between a friend and I, and I’m stubborn as hell, so…).
Otherwise, anything goes. I’d really appreciate it if people would leave a short plot blurb and titles of various possible animes here (or a long description, if you have the time and the inclination). Thanks!
Princess Mononoke–fantasy Ghost in the Shell–SF (It’s what The Matrix wished it could have been.) Grave of the Fireflies–Watch only if you want to cry. Depressing as a dying whimper, but beautiful.
And a couple of series on CN’s Adult Swim:
Inu Yasha–There’s quite a bit of fighting, and it’s got some monster-of-the-week-itis, but it’s not fluff. The premise and characters are interesting, and there are none of the filler “power-up/transform” sequences that are so annoying in Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z. The monsters are downright nasty.
Yu Yu Hakusho–Even more fighting, but not much filler, and decent light entertainment. You’ve got to respect a series that starts with the death of the hero. There aren’t many dubbed episodes yet, so CN is cycling them pretty often.
Cowboy Bebop. Kinda the seminal modern anime SF. Rather retro and melancholy, sort of a modernized film noir in outer space, with a healthy dose of wackiness mixed in. It’s a good introduction to anime because it happens to be awesome by its own virtues.
Definitely don’t jump into Lain or Evangelion yet. They are very good, but definitely pretty hard to follow, and weird if you aren’t used to anime.
Trigun might be good - this incredibly powerful outlaw doesn’t remember who he is, which is kind of a problem as everyone is trying to kill him and collect a huge bounty. The genre is sci-fi, as it’s about people who crash-landed on a hostile planet about a hundred years or so before, but it’s a very wild west like setting.
Hmm. *Akira[i/] is a classic, but I found that I had to watch it a few times to figure out what the heck was going on, and for me it doesn’t have much staying power.
The Ah! My Goddess! series is good, IMO: more like a series of mini-sitcoms. I like the story behind the plot(s): typical college dude accidentally calls the ‘wish hotline’ and a goddess appears to grant his wish. He, jokingly, wishes for a goddess like her to be with him always! (Ooops.) I got started reading the manga, then found the anime.
I would suggest “Ninja Scroll” (possibly from Manga)… a very good introduction to Anime, only slightly screwed up, but screwed up enough that other anime won’t really stun you… sort of a gateway-drug to other anime… plus the story and subplots are really good…
now, if you want something very dark that will make you think, try “Barefoot Gen”… it’s the story of either hiroshima or nagasaki (sorry, not sure on the spelling, and I haven’t seen it in a while so I can’t be certain on the city) nuclear bombings told from the eyes of a young child… being someone that builds/invents/codes things, it helps remind me that there are somethings I don’t want to help create (ie, I don’t want something like atomic weapons on my conscience)
Spirited Away is showing in some movie theatres now. There’s a list of some places it’s showing at here. It’s fantasy, and aimed at children (so it has no sex or violence), but it’s also very enjoyable for adults. (it has the second highest rating of all time at the Rotten Tomatoes site)
It’s definitely worth seeing, even for the animation alone, especially on the big screen. There’s a Cafe Society thread about it here.
Rurouni Kenshin.
Samurai anime with a little more…sentiment than, say, Ninja Scroll. Good action, but life-affirming and kinda warm and fuzzy in its own kind of way.
Ranma 1/2
A lot of its humor comes from slapstick, but it’s pretty damn funny even if that’s not your bag.
Jubei-chan, the Ninja Girl
I only saw a few episodes of this, but what I saw was frickin’ hilarious.
Patlabor either the TV series or the two films. A special police unit in a near future Japan who use large mechs called Labors. Great characters and stories, with less action than you would expect. The Labors have limits to their usefulness, so the members of the unit have to actually think and do some real police work first.
El-Hazard - a fun action fantasy series about several people transported from Earth to a mystical world where they gain special powers. Goofy, silly, a little sexist; but mostly harmless.
I would second Cowboy Bebop, Princess Mononoke, and Trigun.
I might throw in one of the shorter Gundam series like 8th MS Team. Good story and action without getting bogged down in a long storyline or too many characters.
If you want something with humor, then watch Trigun (but in english is the best way to watch it, so you can get the humor, subtitles just don’t seem to do it).\
Another funny one is Chobits, as far as I know, it’s pretty new.
It’s pretty hilarious if you ask me, hehe.
X 1999, the movie is pretty good as well, episodes too. That is if you want something with a little bit of gore.
Hmm, what else…
Kenshin is pretty good to, the “movie-type-thing”, not the episodes.
I My Me Strawberry Eggs, is good too (humorous).
Sailormoon, in my opinion, was the stupidest thing to ever be shown on television.
The Castle of Cagliostro for a good introduction to the Lupin III franchise. Also a darn good movie in its own right. Love Hina is a comedy series with a lot of fans (I’m one of them).
I second Bebop, Trigun and El-Hazard. Ranma 1/2 is the anime that got me into anime–very amusing series. .
Kenshin is great, but doesn’t really pick up until disk 6 or 7–if you get into it, you’ll be in for the long haul.
I have to dissent with one of the other recommendations–Ninja Scroll is probably NOT what you’re looking for. It’s good action anime, but it’s fairly low on character development and extremely gory. Lots of fighting, nudity, etc.
You can’t go wrong with Miyazaki. Princess Mononoke is mentioned above, along with the currently-in-cinemas Spirited Away. Also check out Kiki’s Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro. The latter two have reputations as “kiddie” movies, and to some extent it’s justified, but there’s a simplicity and serenity to the storytelling that wins over adult viewers without insulting them the way the typical American kid-movie insists on chases and fart jokes.
After that, you can graduate to Legend of the Overfiend and Imma Youjo. Ha! Ha! I crack me up.
Robotech, at least the first generation. It’s okay to fast forward through the Minmei singing bits. Unless you actually like it, I suppose.
Blood: The Last Vampire. It’s sort of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer set in mid 1960’s Japan. It has a pretty coherent storyline and has great animation.
Cowboy Bebop, which has been mentioned many times.
It sounds to me like Angel is interested in shoujo anime, like Fushi Yugi, X/1999 and the like. The plots are more character driven, less action driven.
Really? I loved both series (Eva had a little more action than I usually enjoy…) and feel that the “weirdness” was actually more in relation to other anime.
I felt like Lain was a more “western” version of weird- it was very reminiscent of Liquid Television and some of the shorts that were shown on Night Flight.
Eva works on multiple levels, so even if you (like me) don’t get off on the action, there is still the character driven storyline and the symbolism that ranges from obvious and heavy handed to subtle and fascinating.
With all due respect, I found Blood to be…lacking.
If you want good vampire slaying action (as always, IMHO), go with Vampire Hunter D, and VHD: Bloodlust. The animation from the former is a tad dated, but Yoshitaka Amano (just take it for granted that he’s cool) did the character design for it, and it has some great visuals because of it. (I want a cyborg horse.)
Regarding Kenshin, it is kinda ho-hum for the first season (not bad, really, but kind of biding its time), but season two picks up the pace quite nicely. FTR, it’s 95 episodes long, so it could be an expensive series to get into. (I disagree strongly, by the way, about the endorsement for the movie. The movie was distinctly, and merely, “okay.” The OAVs, OTOH, are pretty.)
Okay, all that being said, don’t take this the wrong way, but, um, what’s your gender? If you’re a girl, watch Fushigi Yuugi. It has a plot (two junior high age girls read an ancient, fairly magical book, and get transported into ancient China - named “Kutou” IIRC - and romance, hilarity, and much adventure ensue), is “only” 52 episodes long (hey, you’re the one who said you wanted plot) and is good if (understatement warning)a bit sappy at times.
I began watching anime only a few months ago myself and I found the Miyazaki films(especially Princess Mononoke) and Cowboy Bebop a great introduction too.
Of anime not mentioned above, you might want to try Jin-Roh:Wolf Brigade which is a noirish thriller about terrorists, special agencies and multiple conspiracies.
And if at all possible see the above-mentioned Spirited Away. Getting to see a great anime on the big screen in America is a rare opportunity not to be missed.
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