Hardcore anime fans

[Pxtl]

Haven't heard of Astroboy?

Dammit, i feel old. Astroboy was one of those rare animes they imported for American consumption and showed on TV back in the late '70s/early '80s. Go talk to somebody born in the late '70s and they could probably sing the themesong to you.

[Panda]

I haven't heard of Astroboy and am not sure if I would like. What's it about anyway?

my mouth is hanging wide open..... srsly..

its the future and robots with sentience are common. but they are treated like slaves etc. astroboy is a boy robot built by an evil genious, amazingly strong and powerful, but he's super nice.

the episodes from the 80's all go along the lines of nefarious people treating robots badly and creating them for evil purposes, which then astroboy has to destroy the evil robots.

the real kicker is that astroboy laments at the killing, constantly saying "it doesnt have to be this way" and is all sad every time he destroys other robots.

the newer series created recently doesn't have the emotional overtones that defined the earlier series, and the even newer movie looks devoid of any good qualities.

/me picks jaw up off the floor

I wasn't born until the 80's, didn't watch a lot of TV while growing up, and am not really into retro stuff. I didn't really get into anime a whole lot until I got to college. It also wasn't easy for me to buy or see on the internet while growing up. The way that you describe the newer series though, makes me think that I probably wouldn't like it. The older series could be good, but many of the 80's shows that I do recall seeing (music videos) seem kind of cheesy with a lot of effeminate guys on them. I think that the stuff that they put on The Onion is entertaining and very funny a lot times and so is the "Yatta!" video! Have you ever seen that show or video? Here's an Onion video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrsLMcJn_cA

[KaiserJ]

Kaiser, have you seen the "Returner"? If you haven't, you might like it. It's good asian cinema

i be downloadin'

tbh this whole thread is great, tons of interesting things i've not seen or in some cases even heard of to try. good call on making it!

astro boy is like megaman, but with hair like mine

[luckywaldo7]

Ah I forgot a great one: Baccano! It's really under-appreciated imho, because of the way the story is told. You see many different pieces of the story from many different point of views and parts of the timeline, and it doesn't really come together until the very end. Fantastic story though, even if you have to watch it through a second time, it is worth it anyway because the animation and music are both great, and really set the mood for the time period (U.S. 1920's).

I particularly like how you will see some of the same events more then once, but from a different point of view, so suddenly details that used to be insignificant suddenly become very important. Just lots of depth and attention to detail.

I remembered it because I just finished watching Durarara!! which was made by the same people. Also great, but not quite as good. It does much like Baccano! but not quite as detailed, and the story is more linear. Still one I would recommend.

Athough, what is going on with the exclamation points! in the titles!! I do not know.

[echoone]

THX for the replies.
Someone recommended to me a series called "deathnote"...is that any good?worth watching?

I would strongly recommend Death Note; though admittedly I didn't like the ending. I'd guess there are others who will love the ending. In my opinion there were a couple of strained episodes by overall I think its an enjoyable ride. My wife even enjoyed this flick. I must say, its probably some of the best anime I've seen in ages.

Others which have been recommended to me, but I have no seen, include: Back Lagoon, Witch Hunter Robin, Soul Eater, and Hellsing Ultimate, Basilisk.

I must admit I get very frustrated with asking your same question and finding the dialog in many recommendations is most decidedly not directed at me as a target audience. Death Note suffers oh so slightly from this but I believe over comes this in its other merits - complexity of story line, character development, mental feats of intuition and intellect of various characters (albeit some too strained), so on and so on.

Full Metal Alchemist walks a fine line. Its an interesting story with lots of plot and character development with an actual arc but does suffer from inept dialog. It may or may not be palpable depending on what you're willing to tolerate. Given the characters and associated source of some of this dialog, it might be additionally excusable.

[echoone]

Darker than Black: I kind of break one of my rules here, as this one explores what happens when a bunch of people get superpowers. Mostly, they get used by governments and criminal organizations as weapons :D. While not without its flaws plot-wise and character-wise (tries too hard to be Bebop but fails), it develops a nice creepy atmosphere and a mythos that really adds to that (like the costs at which those powers come.)

I second that. Not bad. Interesting take on things. I too enjoyed "the price" of their powers.

[echoone]

Planetes-others have recommended this to me as well.
I started watching monster.

I tried to get into monster. It takes itself so serious and somehow fails to pull it off. I watch three episodes and just hated it. Like you, I constantly see it recommended. Maybe I didn't give it a fair shake but I don't have any interest to revisiting.

[Caydr]

Stopped reading at page 3 and I only skimmed page 2, some of these might have already been said:

Fullmetal Alchemist - there are two series, one was made before the manga finished, the new one just finished in sync with the end of the manga. The original I think had a better story and less GAR false badassery. However, the new one is also quite good in many ways. The story is as adult as anything, but there's some funny and/or unrealistic parts.

Darker than Black - Two seasons long, but the second season DID NOT HAPPEN. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, DON'T WATCH IT. The first season was decent, not earthshatteringly brilliant, but pretty good. Original ideas, an overarching plot with side-stories, a few funny parts here and there, but it's definitely not a kids show or anything.

Appleseed, Appleseed Ex Machina, Vexille - Three movies, the first two are related obviously, the third one is not. However I believe they were all animated by the same company. They're full-CG with anime styling. Basically they are an anime equivalent to an american summer blockbuster, but with a story.

Samurai Champloo - Something like Cowboy Bebop with samurai. Set back in time. Serious and funny parts. One episode is odd.

Hajime no Ippo - Really good boxing anime. It went for 74 episodes, had like 3 movies, and then returned a couple years ago for another 24 episodes. More are supposedly on the way. Now, you'll notice nobody has recommended a good sports anime to you yet... this is because the Japanese hate two things: sports and whales. So it should really tell you something when a show like Hajime no Ippo (aka "Fighting Spirit") is actually successful.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni - There was a second season of this, add " Kai" on the end and you have its name. The one about seagulls DID NOT HAPPEN. Also the one that ends in... uh... well there's another one. DIDN'T HAPPEN. The series as a whole is bizarre and confusing but ultimately makes perfect sense by the very satisfying end, if you can stick with it. It's not an anime where you have to "stick with it" because it's not being very good, but rather because it pulls a mind**** on you on a regular basis and is confusing as all hell. Also all the main characters are young and there's sillyness and murder in equal quantity. Considering the amount of murder, that means you might be turned off by the constant sillyness.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - allegedly an amazing epic space opera anime. I got to the end of the first episode because it's standard-definition anime from the 80s. "Butterface".

Monster, Death Note, Elfen Lied, Gungrave, Cowboy Bebop, Planetes, 5cm, Place Promised - These have already been mentioned and they have my recommendation. The last two are outstanding but may not meet your definition of adult. Basically these ones have all been recommended to you because they are the ones anime lovers keep on a list in their back pocket in case one of their friends (ha!) ever asks them what anime is.

Stay the hell away from Gantz. It's a piece of shit that will leave you wondering if there was anything you could do to provoke WW3, just so we could nuke Japan some more. It causes diarrhea. Basically it's the anime equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction - show it to a friend and they will never acknowledge anime as being a valid form of entertainment, assuming they don't first die from rapid dehydration due to the previously-mentioned diarrhea. If I had a one-time-use time machine, I would go back and assassinate Commodore Perry to prevent Japan from ever opening its ports, just to prevent this show from ever getting out. DO NOT WATCH IT.

[Gota]

Everyone rushes to watch Gantz?

[Das Bruce]

I know I shouldn't but I want to.

[Caydr]

The one 100% serious thing I'll ever say to anyone about anything.

Do NOT watch Gantz. It's 24 episodes of being raped in your eye sockets. Do you understand? You will die a little inside for every episode you watch. If you watch the whole thing (like me), hoping something good will happen to justify the wasted hours of your life (like me), you will probably emerge a broken man, able to do naught but weep over the ordeal you have just lived through. The lesser of your number may never fully recover.

It is the antithesis of everything good in the world.

DO NOT WATCH GANTZ.

[Caydr]

Alright, here's a couple of previous posts to further detail the intense folly of watching Gantz:

Black Lagoon: AWESOME HOT AWESOME SAUCE GREAT AWESOME, something like a mixture of Gungrave, Cowboy Bebop, and a little Elfen Lied (psychotic evil-eyed red-haired goddess of death). It's not so much "great" as it is "way better than some of the other crap I've sat through recently, like Serial Experiments Lain, Boogeypop Phantom, and some other crap. This is my ideal kind of show, and its few notable weaknesses can be forgiven.

Gantz: As of episode 25, this is the worst shit I have ever seen, besides all the other stuff that is worse.

The story's not bad, and I won't spoil any of the more significant things I take issue with, but it's like this. Picture you're fighting a giantass animated statue; roughly the size of the statue of liberty. You are using the equivalent of a modern day bazooka as your weapon against it, only it's the size of a pistol and is semi-automatic with infinite ammo. You also have about 5 comrades who are, while not as epic elite as you, competent somewhat.

What do you do in this situation?
A) Snipe it from afar, being as you have nothing to lose from this and everything to gain
B) Try to surround it
C) Run up to it, take a potshot at its feet, then realize you're too close and run away for cover under a fragile structure, and repeat. Several times. Meanwhile your "allies", and I do not jest, stand around doing nothing and eventually one of them says "WE SHOULD PROBABLY HELP HIM OUT!".

H-O-L-Y C-R-A-P. I've heard of bullshit anime fighting where you stand around having conversations and shouting your secret strategy to your allies while your enemy is within close earshot, and I've heard of having conversations in the middle of a fight while the enemy just stands around and waits for the sky to fall.... but this, this is unique.

And I'm not exaggerating that. One of the guys actually says "I think maybe we should help him out". This is because they have literally stood still and done nothing for the entire battle, meanwhile you are barely staying alive.

This happens in *every* battle. One guy actually fights, the others just stand around and make no indication they are even aware a battle is taking place not 50 feet away from them with a freaking skyscraper-sized animated statue of evil. I might have to youtube this, it's unreal.

And I can't emphasize this enough: their target is a the proverbial side of a barn, and they don't even attempt to shoot at it unless it's no more then 20 feet away. They just stand around an moan. This show is completely a typical shonen action show, I didn't expect much from it going in, but I'm still enormously disappointed with my loss of the 13 hours it took to watch it.

So some more on Gantz.

I think what ultimately ruined the show for me were the things that just don't make sense. I mean, moreso than one is used to when watching this kind of thing. For instance, the most glowing golden example I can think of would be in a certain episode, a certain female character and her boyfriend are fighting a certain enemy who fights by throwing acid.

The male character in question is standing around thinking about sports or laundry or something, as usual. The female character is on the far side of the room. The acid-death-bearing enemy is about 5 feet away from the male character.

Here's a diagram, you'll understand in a minute why it's needed.

E
|
|
M
|
|
|
|
|
F

E= enemy, M = Male character, F = female character. They're all in this room and that's their relative position to one another.

The acid is thrown at Male Character's midsection. It is now about half-way to the male character, who is paralyzed with either fear or terminal dumbness, just stands there. They've already seen an example of what it does, and it sure as hell isn't pretty, in fact it's depicted so graphically it's probably one of the main things that got this show rated R.

Female character - wearing a supersuit I should add, which enhances speed, strength, gives invisibility, and provides protection... (*realizes where the idea for Crysis came from*) ...RUNS across the room. Fast. Really freaking fast. The acid was already in midair remember.

She suddenly changes course, heading towards Male Character. Yay they'll be saved.

No, instead of doing what any person with DnD intellect of 8 or higher would do, pushing Male Character out of the way, she actually runs further than she has to and intercepts the acid with her own body in mid air. Horrible death ensues. What the hell was that?

OH! OH and there's the parts where the characters just don't shoot at the enemy standing right in front of them for no reason other than to die and be dramatic.

Damn I hate that show. I hate it mainly for the wasted potential. You can tell they were on to a good idea right from the start of the series and they screwed it up.

[Caydr]

I re-read what I just said, and while accurate, I think I can still more accurately describe The Gantz Experience as being raped in your eyesocket.

[jK]

DO NOT WATCH GANTZ.

Yeah, read the manga.

[Caydr]

Yeah, the manga at least doesn't require 10 minutes of padding per episode where the characters question the morality of defending themselves against giant monsters bent on mindless destruction.

Something tells me the decision to make a Gantz anime went like this:

Managaka goes to anime company for a pitch. The producers are intent on getting themselves fired, and...




Screw it, I'm not wasting my time coming up with a joke. Don't watch this shit, that's my final warning.

[Das Bruce]

I'll only watch the fist episode, just to know how bad it is.

[Neddie]

Of course, Gantz Abridged is out there for those of you who desire half the lulz and none of the misery.

[Pxtl]

Yeah, the manga at least doesn't require 10 minutes of padding per episode where the characters question the morality of defending themselves against giant monsters bent on mindless destruction.

Something tells me the decision to make a Gantz anime went like this:

Managaka goes to anime company for a pitch. The producers are intent on getting themselves fired, and...




Screw it, I'm not wasting my time coming up with a joke. Don't watch this shit, that's my final warning.

As I said upthread, don't watch anythign that brags about being based on a manga. They always seem to be 5 minutes of plot and 20 minutes of padding. Fark you, DBZ for starting that trend.

[dimm]

Best Anime Site
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=main

My list of favorite anime:
http://www.listal.com/list/favorite-anime-ran88dom99

Sprited Away
Nausicaa (you need to read the manga for the actual ending)
Moribito
Last Exile ( not the last 1/3)
Claymore (not the last 2 episodes)
Fumoffu (comedy)
Soul Eater

As I said upthread, don't watch anythign that brags about being based on a manga. They always seem to be 5 minutes of plot and 20 minutes of padding. Fark you, DBZ for starting that trend.

Its a bad idea to test the material or use something deserving to be used just spend more money and the new material will be awesome. Especially if the medias convert easily.

Gantz's stupidity is simply more obvious than in everything else. As for 'pet'... its a joke on the audience. Also the characters are supposed to be adjusting to the impossible with lots of problems.

Elfin Leid is insane and Planetes is slow except the last arc.

Has anyone mentioned Ergo Proxy?
You really want to see Ouran host club!
http://www.hulu.com/channels/Animation- ... ular_today
http://www4.funimation.com/video/?