And I can’t forget to mention Record of Lodoss War. Very high-budget, occasionally slightly cheesy, but extremely entertaining overall. And the music is fabulous.
MR
LOL!!! Well, I thought it worth a mention, at least…
I agree totally with the Princess Mononoke vote. That was an excellent movie.
silent_rob, I asked a friend who’s into anime and he said:
Some of the stuff he recommended has already been mentioned. Hope this helps you. Happy viewing!
More from my friend:
Duhh, I forgot to mention * X. *
It’s second to none for action (well, maybe second to * Ninja Scroll * ).
Im quite an anime fan and must say POKEMON IS EVIL!! … i swear its how Japan is going to take over America. anyway… i didnt see any mention of VAMPIRE HUNTER D. I found it to be a nice lime-wedge in the anime world… no neo-tokyo type stuff… and plenty of action and a rather well developed plot.
“Vampire Hunter D”
I’ll say that Vampire Hunter D is a good watch the first time. With subsequent viewings you can see where they really cut corners on the animation. Good story though.
Whoa, same here. Though a little short on plot, X is absolutely gorgeous and has some of the coolest action around.
MR
To understand X you need to read the manga.
Rurouni Kenshin is my fave, it’s good if you like historical stuff or sword fights.
Fushigi Yuugi is good too, except for the whole “Miaka I love you…but I cant” thing.
Sailor Moon is good in the Japanese. The english version is a butchered mess.
Another fave is Kare Kano, His and Her circumstances. It’s more of a girls show but it deals with guys problems too, “typical” high school life 
I’ll second Serial Experiments Lain. endure the first 3 eps(they’ll make more sense later), and I think you’ll love it. I bought the OP as soon as I saw the first ep o’ lain.
By the same director/animators as Lain and just as good a soundtrack and plot is Nazca. like Lain, it’s a short 4 tape series, but the ending is satisfying.
What’s also good is the little known series BT’X. animation is not very good, but this is an old series. I fell in love with it on the first episode, but some people odn’t like it. I suppose it’s up to taht person’s taste.
and I dont’ think I’ve seen Utena on this list yet, which is surprising. It is shojo, with all the roses and pink, but the show is still incredibly enjoyable, especailly the Nanami episodes.
I might as well do my favorite anime list:
(in order, w/ the top being favorite)
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Nazca
Serial Experiments Lain
Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight
Revolutionary Girl Utena
The Vision of Escaflowne
The NPC/Cell Saga through the Great Saiyaman Saga of Dragon Ball
The first 6 episodes of Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars
Magic Knights Rayearth (both parts, cuz the first part really didn’t end)
Kodoma No Omacha (the kids are on CRACK! especially the first eps, when Sana calls her butler her pimp, and when she raps (ROFL at the thought!)
Revolutionary Girl Utena, preferably subtitled.
It’s surreally beautiful. It’s hauntingly perplexing. It’s esoterically amusing. It’s fraught with intimations of homoeroticism. And dammit, the music just punches the monkey.
Reviews, synopses, more info at:
http://www.duellists.tj/ - the Utena Encyclopedia
http://www.anipike.com/utena.html - the Anipike’s super-wide-load springboard to fanpages
Hail, teppei! Simulthought, eh?
Nice sig.
Take my revolution.
[hijack]
yeah, Utena is da bomb! I’ve used Utena to get about 10 people hooked on anime, all of whom didn’t know what anime was in the first place. My favorite Nanami episode is the one that introduces Mitsuru. (runaway kangaroo!) But they’re all good.
THE best Utena episode is number 34 (I believe), where
[possible spoiler]
they show what exactly happened in Anthy and Akio’s past. That is one of the most distubing episodes I’ve seen in all of anime (second to the second episode in Evangelion with the forth child in it).
I used that quote on my sig in an art project last semester. Some people thought it was cool, most thought I was on crack.
It’s still my favorite anime quote.
Further votes for Oh! My Goddess, Princess Mononoke, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Patlabor (Especially the movies.).
I’d add (All movies unless noted otherwise):
You’re Under Arrest (Series): Created by the same fellow as O!MG. Comedy about the police at a particular Tokyo precinct.
Wings of Honeamise: An alternate history, really, set on a world just about to have it’s first space flight. (There’s a LOT more to it, but that would be spoilers.)
Galaxy Express 999: Any description I give couldn’t do this justice. The sequel’s interesting, but not as good.
GoShogun: The Time Etranger: Sequal to the GoShogun TV series (though knowing the series isn’t neccessary). The retired GoShogun team gather for a vigil over a dying comrade. (Again, anything further would be SPOILERS!)
Night on the Galactic Railroad: Slow-moving, and extremely strange. A boy…well…a cat, actually…most of the characters are cats…anyway, he ends up taking a trip on a strange cosmic train with his friend. (It’s REALLY hard to synopsise this one without it sounding stupid…trust me…it’s not.)
Maybe I should have just listed titles…^__^;;;
Well, now I feel like less of a moron. I loved the visuals, but my friend and I (and he is hardcore anime) couldn’t make a lick of sense of the plot.
Wow, this is the thread that rises from the ashes - I remember AudreyK asking for anime advice months ago, and there it is.
Let me just add a few notes, since I evidently didn’t impart all my opinions on anime to AudreyK. Rurouni Kenshin is being released by two different distributors in the US. The OVAs are being released by ADVision, under the name Samurai X (IIRC), and the TV series is being released by Media Blasters (or some such company) under the name Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai, or words to that effect. The OVAs are drawn differently from the TV series and the animation is much more lush, showing the longer production schedule OVAs tend to have. It’s significantly bloodier than the TV series (this is Kenshin as the Hitokiri Battousai, after all!) and really isn’t meant for younger audiences. The TV series, on the other hand, is much “nicer” both in terms of being bloodless and being appropriate for younger audiences (especially since the US release is not the profanity laden Shinsen Gumi fansubs).
Word on a couple “new” series… Trigun, from what I have seen and heard (my friend has the whole series), is very funny, though it gets more serious, and very entertaining overall. Ninja Girl Jubei-Chan, from the eps I saw at Anime Expo is absolutely hilarious in so many ways! Finally Blue Submarine #6, which Bigstar damn well better be delivering to me soon, supposedly has CGI that puts what was in Titan A.E. to shame (I’ll let you know after I watch it).
Hope this helps…
I saw the Utena movie at AX, and I had no frickin’ clue what was going on, but that’s what I get for seeing a movie w/out watching the series, huh? It does look very cool, though, I may see if I can rent it somewhere before going straight into the domestic release DVDs. (Unless there’s a fansubber that forgot to stop distributing?
And, yeah, I used FY to get a few friends hooked on anime. Then I brought in the Kenshin, and it was all over…
You thought the fourth child ep of Eva was disturbing? What about the movie? Besides the ending (which I won’t spoil), what about the action during the “It all comes tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down…” song? Heh, the Eva movie gave my friend nightmares (that and Tetsuo: The Iron Man).
Ah, and if I had a dollar for everytime somebody said “Miaka” or “Tamahome”…
Ah, but who needs creativity when it’s Takahashi-sama? :)Personally, I view Ranma 1/2 as “gateway” anime - you know, like how marijuana is supposed to be a gateway drug - since it introduces the love triangles/polygons that show up in so many other anime, and since it introduces the more shojo-esque aspects of a lot of anime, yet keeps even the most adolescent of boys interested through its use of action and humor (and it is, IMHO, funnier than UY or most of Maison Ikkoku) and, MALLETS!
Oh, speaking of mallets, City Hunter is also very entertaining stuff, very good blend of action and humor (though mostly action). And Ryo Saeba is just cool - just watch the first 10 minutes of XYZ and you’ll see what I mean…
Two words. Cowboy Bebop. The most purely entertaining show I’ve ever seen. A little bit of everything.
Key the Metal Idol’s way up there, too. Kind of similar to Lain, but a bit less less trippy, and it has the best direction that I’ve ever seen in animation. And maybe in a LA movie, as well. It’s a bit dark, though.
Macross Plus is a good bet, too, if your looking for something a bit shorter. (and with less tapes/dvds to buy) And another second for Vision of Escaflowne.
But it depends on what you like.
If actions more your thing, Eat Man 98 is loads of fun, if you can find it. Ignore the silly name. Its sort of a 70’s style “tough guy wandering” show, with a southwest feel to it. Or the second Fatal Fury OAV, and the movie. The last works of the action god Musami O’bari, before his breast fetish got the best of him, that is. Not much plot, but great superhero style action sequences. Or the second Devilman OAV. (Don’t bother with the first one)
And if you’re in an 80’s mood, Bubble Gum Crisis or AD Police (warning, very dark) are both lots of fun. Do not combine with The Lost Boys, though, as the combo might feather your hair.
If you like humor, Ranma’s always a good bet. Or Slayers. The later Slayers series actually develop a fair plot, and some pretty good action too, without ever losing the goofyness. (warning: Dub for movie is pretty bad. Dub for TV show is great) or Cutey Honey. Or Phantom Quest Corp, in the unlikly event that you can find it. Or Cat Girl Nuku Nuku. And definatly give Golden Boy a try if they have it. (warning: slightly blue) El Hazzard is a lot of fun too, and has terrific design. You may recognize some of the props and costumes. They -ahem- coincedentally showed up in Star Wars episode one.
If character or plot are more what you’re looking for, Sanctuary’s a great bet. Or Here is Greenwood, though you might have to hunt for that. FY is very good, but only if you have a high flashback tolerance. A fair whining tolerance will help, too.
Gonna have to disagree with whoever suggested Kite, though. I thought it was just pretentious and dumb. And what’s the point of using explosive bullets if you shoot people in vital areas anyway?
And whatever you do, don’t get MD Geist. -shudder- It may be the worst piece of film ever made, anywhere, without involving Pauly Shore. Without a severe Mano’s style training sequence, you may not survive with soul intact.
–
“Ah, something else created by Satan. Japanimaition!”
Ja, the Utena movie—Adoloscence Mokushiroku—can stand alone, but is an immeasurably richer experience if you’re already familiar with the television series.
And how could I forget Perfect Blue. If you like Terry Gillian style messing with perception movies, you’ll love it. Or if you like thrillers.
It has people being icepicked to death set to bubbly idol music. You really can’t get much better than that. Though the Gospel+bludgeoning bit in B5 came close.
“And the rock cried out, no hiding place.”
I really like Gun Smith Cats, having lived in Chicago I could recognize some of the scenery.
I also saw La Blue Girl recently, boy was this some truly twisted stuff. When they said “Adults Only” on this one they meant it.