The anime inside the anime I was thinking of is Martian Successor Nadesico:
Sorry for the heart attack Bosda
Brian
I’m not a huge anime fan, but a couple of my best friends are, so I’ve watched some with them. Two best series I’ve ever seen:
Death Note - a death kami “accidentally” drops his “death note” (actually a notebook) on Earth, where it is found by a student (high school or college - I never figured out which). It seems that the person possessing the book can write a person’s name in the book, and that person will die shortly thereafter. The student decides this is his opportunity to get rid of all the world’s criminals, one at a time. It’s dark and eerie, and is really something of a morality play. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the entire series yet.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - I haven’t seen all of this yet, either, but what I have seen has been some of the most hilarious and well-written stuff ever. There’s really no describing it. Just watch it. It’s recently been released in the US by Bandai, at least the first few episodes.
Check on the plot; Government find some kids who are psychic, tests and drugs them. OK so far. And Akira, he was responsible for an explosion that wiped out Tokyo, so he was cut up and examined, all the other kids are drugged to keep them in line. Another kid reaches Akira’s level of power and the city goes poof again and the last of the kids and Akira’s spirit come and take him away
What confuses me about the plot is when; Magazines start pulling bits in from what I assume must be the manga about the kids being designed by the government as weapons, which is why WWIII started
Seconded. Although there are parts essentially mocking (pleasantly) anime genre conventions (really the whole thing is one big joke played reasonably seriously), but certainly someone who’s never seen any or much anime will get a lot of laughs out of it. And there’s serious parts, too! My favourite series, and I just hope they make more, since there’s only… 14 episodes, I think, off the top of my head.
I’d also second twopiecesofeight’s suggestion of Full Metal Panic Fumoffu!, which is (as they said) pretty much straight comedy. I would also suggest Avatar: The Last Airbender. An American show, not anime, but incorporating anime styles and (while it’s also got comedic moments) and overall a much more “serious” animation than you find in general Western animation.
It’s they’ve already been mentioned, but more votes for Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Beautiful movies. And the total amount of anime in my collection?
::Scans DVD shelves::
It appears that the closest thing I have to Japanese entertainment are old Godzilla VHS’s.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu) is hands down one of my favorite anime. Great Dopers have great taste, ya?
I was reluctant to suggest Haruhi because it’s not exactly newbie friendly. When the series was released last year, it gathered a strong cultish following, at the same time getting some WTF reactions from people who couldn’t figure out what was going on. An anime newbie who has no idea what to expect should keep the following in mind:
(Note: These are not plot spoilers. Just preventing newbies from giving up after watching the first episode.)
-
The very first episode has lousy camera work, sporadic continuity, and corny dialogue. Looks like a video filmed by high school students, because it’s a … anyway, relax, smile, listen to the narration, and laugh until it hurts. Try to stick it out until the end. Don’t worry, it won’t all be like this.
-
When the series aired on Japanese TV, the episodes were aired in a specific sequence for maximum story impact and character development. Meaning they weren’t aired in chronological order. Not sure if the episodes were re-ordered for the DVD release. But don’t be surprised if episodes feel like flash-backs or flash-forwards.
-
As a result of this anachronistic ordering, you will get ‘ah ha!’ moments where little details suddenly gain significance as you watch more episodes.
-
As noted by Revenant Threshold, the series makes fun of stereotypical anime story and character conventions (high school setting, the quiet nerd, the pretty airhead, Sci-Fi powers) while adding some refreshing twists. Lots of anime and anime-related references abound. (The animation studio, Kyoto Animation, also did the Full Metal Panic series. Yup, there’s a reference to that, too.)
-
The Ending Theme Dance is practically embedded in the collective consciousness of the anime community. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Resistance is futile. (YouTube link.)
I believe they were re-ordered for the DVD release. Only the first disc is out here yet, but while the first aired episode is still first on the disc, ep 3 is on the disc where ep 7 was in the airing order.
And I would kill to have a DVD with the full dance ending on it. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, far better than the average anime ending.
Yeah, it’s very fluid and realistic. A lot of anime looks like the artists cut corners, to an extent.
How could we forget the Aviation Fairy Tale: Porco Rosso? :smack:
Post #26 
Well, I’m still sort of a newbie, and I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen of it so far. Maybe it just hit my sense of humor the right way I really enjoyed the scene where Haruhi obtains the computer 
Here you go, all laid out:
Her solution to the club intending to back up their president was literally jaw-dropping. I was not expecting that. Which made it all the funnier. 