Particularly in the same vein as Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor 2.
I liked them because the animation seemed to be of a higher quality than other films/series, it was set in the near future in an environment that seems to be believable as an extention of our own present and the plots were enjoyable (to me at least ) Anything similar released in the UK?
As an aside, are Appleseed and The Professional Golgo 13 any good, I saw them going relatively cheaply and I was wondering if they were worth picking up.
I dont know if it is available outside of the US but try netflix, for a monthly fee you can see as many movies as you want, then buy the ones you like. I have been doing this for a while and with somehting like anime it has been great. I havent wasted money on a movie I didnt like.
On the Ghost topic, I heard there is a part 2 comic out, not sure about a movie yet but I will definitly be looking for that.
There are also tons of websites you can order from, I would give you the links but my comp crashed last week and I lost all 15000 of my bookmarks. But like anyhting else, try google or try a search on here a while back there was a post with the links to a few.
But I ALWAYS look for an opportunity to recommend the Cowboy Bebop series. Stupid name, but the only anime that’s ever held my interest; excellent animation, interesting characters and plots.
Golgo 13: Ew. Ick. PU. Nasty. Bad bad bad. Yuck. Ptui. But that’s just my honest opinion.
If you like Patlabor 2 and Ghost in the Shell, and want movies or TV series similar to them, then I recommend Akira, which is the granddaddy of cyber-punk anime, and I think you may also like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Patlabor 1, Battle Angel, Spriggan, and Metropolis.
Bubblegum Crisis Or, to be mor precise, the “remake” series Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040. (I haven’t seen the original series from the 80s) Great story, great characters, VERY cool all around.
Hayao Miyazaki – Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke etc. – is generally not into the typical Japanese cyberpunk thing, but he is the finest animator around, bar none, and his the dark, futuristic, post-apolyptic fantasy Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (based on his excellent graphic novel series) might be to your taste.
Akira. Based on Otomo’s late-1970s manga series, which changed the face of mange and anime for ever. The film is somewhat different from the graphic novels, in plot as well as tone, but definitely a minor classic.
There is the spin-off TV series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Also, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is coming out soon.
Robot Carnival is an antology of anime (Otomo contributes a segment) about robots.
) Anything similar released in the UK?