Finally, I finally found some anime I like

Cafe Society
1

There’s been plenty of threads about anime and the recommendation thereof. I’d tried some of the suggestions like Ghost in the Shell and Akira, but just couldn’t get into them.

I was discussing this with a friend whose son is really into anime. He gave me his copy of Record of Lodoss War and asked me to give it a shot.

Well, I liked it. It was a tad slow in parts, but otherwise, it was pretty well done.

Couple of questions, though: it seemed that anytime any two guys were about to throw down, there’d be a LOT of screaming. Is this standard procedure for anime?

Also, is it weird for me to have noticed that Deedlit was really cute?

2

And, yes, I finally previewed the title of this thread.
:smack:

3

Good. :slight_smile:

Now, quit wasting time on the “B” movie stuff, & get into Cowboy Bebop

4

As long as there’s no gigantic mouths or voluptious 12-yr-old girls in sailor suits, I’ll give it a shot.

5

No 12 year olds in sailor suits, but there is a voluptous twentysomething deadbeat “gypsy” wearing … well, very little. But seriously, it’s not about innuendo. Cowboy Bebop is about the inherent coolness that is Spike Speigel.

6

BTW, Akira is easily one of the most incomprehensible anime ever made (unless you’ve read the manga), so I wouldn’t feel bad about not getting all into it.

Cowboy Bebop is definitely fun. Have you tried any of the Miyazaki movies, for example Spirited Away?

7

Not yet.

I see where Cowboy Bebop had just restarted its run on the Cartoon Network (well, it did a couple of weeks ago), so I’ll start recording it. If I’ve missed the first two shows, will I be horribly confused if I start watching with the 3rd episode?

8

I usually hate anime (I have no love for Akira aside from the high-quality animation), but I too like Cowboy Bebop a lot. Good stories, GREAT soundtrack, and cool characters (minus Ed) with actual decent English dubbing.

I also liked the anime film Metropolis (nothing to do with the German silent expressionist film OR Superman’s city), but I’ve found Miyazaki’s stuff (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke)to be very pretty and extremely imaginative, but they usually don’t do much for me despite all that.

9

You won’t be confused but you need to see them all. And my guess is, you’ll want to. I don’t know how the Cartoon Network presents these, but for the complete, uncensored, unadulterated experience you should get the whole series on DVD. And even though most of the episodes are “free standing”, there is a whole story arc and a definite ending.

See ya’ space cowboy.

10

A look at the “Alternate versions” section of the IMDB (not definitive, but close enough for gov’t work) doesn’t seem to indicate any major changes.

11

Um? Lodoss is an anime classic. I’d put it up there with Bebop. In fact, the OVA animation is superior to Bebop IMHO. The story is deep (although you don’t get the breadth of it unless you read the manga) and the characters intriguing. Personally, for me, Lodoss kicks Bebop’s ass any day. Spike and Julia’s love story may be poignant, but so is Beld and Flaus’.

Now, if you want to get away from the ‘B’ movie stuff, get into the X TV series. High quality animation, amazingly deep plot and it almost made me cry several times.

I don’t really see what everyone sees in Bebop - I’ve seen some of the early episodes and the movie, and yes, everyone will whine at me to watch all of it. I know how the plot goes. And I’d rather soak in the majesty of Escaflowne, Lodoss, Berserk and Evangelion. Hell, I’d rather watch Bastard!!.

12

Even if you didn’t like the Ghost in the Shell movie, you might like the TV series Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex. It’s a bit different from the movie, more of a cop show and less metaphysical, though it still deals with issues about cybernetics and the mind-body relation.

Of course I’m not a reliable source for this rec, as GitS isn’t just my favorite anime, it’s one of my favorite movies, period.

13

An anime that I’ve found I really like is Kino’s Journey. It’s about a girl who rides around on a talking motorcycle. Sort of.

Also, some great anime movies:
Tokyo Godfathers and Millenium Actress

I’d recommend all of these to someone who want to see some anime that’s not like typical stuff.

14

Do these shows have any high-tech racecars and mysterious, long-lost brothers?

15

Personally I thought that Lodoss was just an extended LoTR, so not much of interest.

But definitely Cowboy Bebop would be one of the better shows to ever be watching something good. And rent Grave of the Fireflies, no action, but very good odds you will bawl your eyes out.

But there is no such as getting into anime. That’s like saying, “Dudes, I’m trying to get into TV, what should I watch?” There are a few genres like giant robots or magical princesses, but just because somethings a giant robot show doesn’t mean it will be anything like you have seen yet. Blazing Saddles, Tombstone, and Once Upon a Time in the West are all Westerns, doesn’t mean there is much similar there.

16

I haven’t actually seen Record of Lodoss War, but from what I know it seems to have a large character-driven element. If I’m right, and if you’re into that, I suggest Trigun and Fullmetal Alchemist.

And if you want to see a parody of Lodoss, I suggest The Slayers. It’s a lighthearted and humorous look at that type of show.

17

Also, if you’re looking for a quality anime with a similar setting to Lodoss, I recommend checking out Scrapped Princess.

18

Lots of good suggestions, so far. Thanks.

I’m not usually into the D&D stuff, but if the story and the characters are good, I’ll give it a look.

As for the giant mouth thing, I’m talking about the kind you’d see in the kiddy-oriented stuff (like the Saturday morning game-based toons). It seems like the character has only 2-3 mouth shapes and they engulf half the characters head. I can handle the big eyes to an extent.

Even though some anime fans would disagree, I preferred dubbed to subtitled.

What amazes me is how expensive this stuff is!

19

I have to say I’m probably more facinated by the art of anime than the actual movies and shows. 30 minutes of Cowboy Bebop is cool. 2 hours in a movie can be a bit plodding. In fact, a lot of anime movies seem to contain long expository scenes of blossums falling in a forest or some character brooding for ten minutes by a lake or some such thing. Most have somewhat of a “what the fuck?!” factor to them as well.

I do like Masamune Shirow’s work (Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed), Hayao Miyazaki’s (Nausicaä, Princess Mononoke) as well as Akira, Cowboy Bebop and Samari Champloo.

G4/TechTV’s Anime Unleashed aired a series called Last Exile which was kind of interesting. Had kind of what I believe people call a “steampunk” theme to it.

Adult Swim had a few series I found kind of interesting, even if I never did catch more than a few snippets here and there:
Blue Gender - “Inspired” by Starship Troopers much in the same way Rocky II is inspired by Rocky.
Wolf’s Rain - Best I could tell, about a bunch of wolves that could appear human and wandered across some post- or near-Appocalyptic future
Witch Hunter Robin - A girl named Robin who hunts witches.
Trigun, Inuyasha and Dragonball, however, seem a little too infantile for my tastes.

20

In addition to the simplistic superdeformed art style used in some anime, there’s a fairly frequently used convention where characters will switch art styles to provide emphasis – Dragon Half, for example, is for the most part realistic in its art style, but when the titular character is angry, she turns into a two-dimensional cartoon 4-year old.

The series that got me to not mind that is Trigun. The main character (Vash the Stampede, the $$60,000,000,000.00 man – yes, 60 billion double dollars) does the art-style swap thing a fair amount, and for whatever reason it actually worked for me.

I’m with you there. Assuming the English is done right, I like being able to watch instead of read.

I strongly advise Netflix. They have a pretty good selection, and especially if you are still finding out what you like, rentals are a great way to go.

Some more recommendations for you.

**Ghost in the Shell; Stand Alone Complex **-- the TV series is far more accessible than the movie. I think working in 22-minute segments made the creative team stay away from long meditative montages on the nature of sentience, which is a good thing. SAC is s the continuing stories of Public Security Section 9, undercover paramilitary cyborgs.

**Read or Die **-- fast-paced, great-looking and fun. The series (ROD the TV) is a direct sequel but doesn’t seem like it for the first few episodes. Undercover superheroes working for the British Library save the world. Fun!

Kiddy Grade – if you can get past the fanservice (panty shots and jiggling boobies), you will find a great-looking series of remarkable depth. In the future, the Galactic Association for Trades and Tariffs (somewhere between the UN and the WTO) employs superhuman agents to resolve issues.

Those Who Hunt Elves is darned entertaining. The first volume is titled “Elf Stripping for Fun and Profit”, IIRC. Lost in a magical world, a team of adventurers from Earth want to get home, but need to find the words of a magic spell… which, due to a mishap, are hidden on the bodies of female elves somewhere in the world. Goofy fun.