I feel like a kid in a candy shop. I don’t want to overload, but I am going to watch as many of the ones recommend here as I can find and hopefully more. So far I have the following on order both at Amazon and my library (which has more than I dreamed it would):
Whisper of the Heart
Princess Mononoke
Castle in the Sky
Porco Rosso
The Castle of Cagliostro
Kare Kano
Grave of Fireflies
Perfect Blue looks like something I’d really like, but the cheapest copy I can find is almost $50, so that one will have to wait. I bookmarked this thread so I can refer to it when I finish the ones above.
Thank you all and if you can think of any others, keep 'em coming!
**Paprika ** has been mentioned a couple of times. I’m not an anime fan, but this was one I was really looking forward to based on reviews and other conversations. But I didn’t care about any of the characters. Oh, the premise was great, but it didn’t develop at all (at not least that I could comprehend). I think I would have enjoyed the movie a lot more if I just watched it with no dialogue or subtitles. Just the animation and the accompanying musical score. This has got to be some of the catchiest movie music I’ve come across in a long while. I played the opening credit sequence over and over and over and ended up ordering the CD off Amazon.
I found this on YouTube if you are interested. It’s a fan edit sequence set to the music. About 5 minutes. If these visuals capture your imagination, you might want to check it out.
While I thought that the big fantasy parade was well done, it didn’t strike me as being quite as magical as the one in Ghibli’s Pom Poko. Of course, that might just be because I’d seen it first.
This has been recommended already, but I would definitely add Nausicaa to your list. I just saw this, and it’s one fantastic piece of post-apocalyptic fiction. It was released in 1984, and from what I’ve read is essentially the start of the Golden Age of Miyazaki (and Studio Ghibli, though this formed a bit after the film was created).
When someone asks the question of the title of the OP, I always recommend (in this case, fourth) Cowboy Bebop. It is hardly the same kind of show as any of those listed in the OP. But its damn good television nonetheless.
Metropolis! I can’t recommend this anime enough. It’s kid-friendly (YMMV) but has definite appeal for adults. Plus an amazing soundtrack that doesn’t really mesh with what you would expect from an anime.
Bosda
I don’t remember that song being in there, but it’s been awhile since I watched it. I was thinking more along the lines of Ray Charles’ I Can’t Stop Loving You.
S’cuse me, I think I’ve got somethin’ in my eye. sniffle
That’s the scene I meant, but my version has Ray Charles. Is yours a special edition or something? (Damn if there’s more than one version I need to get my hands on it, that’s my favorite anime!)
Session 1 thru 6 is the TV series. Start at 1 and go in numerical order.
The movie was made after the TV show but it takes place some time before the events of the final TV episodes. It is self-contained and could be watched on its own, but I recommend watching the series first.