Anime Recommendation Thread

The Core The Anime Forum
1

This thread will, I hope, eventually, be a small repository people can browse when thinking of what series to watch or read next. If you have anything you want to recommend, new or old, stick the name, some general info and a description down. I only ask a few things:
[ul][li]Please try and avoid repeats unless the post already there sucks. If the person three posts up posted a good description about Naruto already but you want to as well, tough shit.
[/li][li]No lists. Tell us what the series is about at the minimum. If I see you making a list of names I will edit your post into amusing insults directed at your matriarchial figure. Hell, copy a synopsis from another website if you’re so desperate to not have to type it out yourself, but no lists.
[/li][li]For the love of God don’t start arguing when someone posts Major or Bleach or whatever the current trendy shounen fighting/sport-action-drama is. Same goes for the ‘classics’ like Evangelion or FLCL. If you think it sucks, fine, just let someone else post it.[/ul]
[/li]
See? Fun! I’ll start with my two favourite things ever.

Noein (sci-fi anime, ongoing)

A series about alternatly a group of unstable dimension-hoppers searching for some mystical artifact to save their dimension from destruction and a group of teenagers who get wrapped up with their mission. That doesn’t even begin to describe how crazy-awesome this show is. The plot hangs together perfectly, the characters are great and the fighting is incredible. NB will back me up on this one. <3 Atori.

Crest of the Stars, Banner of the Stars, BotS 2 and BotS 3 (sci-fi anime, complete)

A lot of people say this is about spaceship battles and awesome political intrigue, but it’s not really. It’s about a human kid named Jinto forced into an alien nobility when his planet is taken over, who meets a girl called Lafiel, and their entire relationship over the years the anime follows (there will be more series). It’s based on a series of ongoing books that’re slowly being translated themselves and I hope it never ends because Lafiel and Jinto are the greatest character studies in anime, ever.

2

Yuusha-ou Gaogaigar (super robot, complete)

Starts off as fairly generic monster of the week style material, but once that gets out of its system GGG becomes nothing but a rolling juggernaut of hotblood and awesome. This series is a completely angst free zone, with the main characters ready, willing and able to kick lots of ass.

Yuusha-ou Gaogaigar Final (super robot, complete)

8 episodes of an already incredible series distilled and compressed into greatness beyond comparison. More of the action you’d expect from the original, with much better animation and some nice surprises along the way. At the risk of sounding a little too much like a rabid fanboy: Final of Final: Mythology has got to be the greatest thing ever animated. Period.

Gloss over of the plot deliberately omitted since it is very much not what one should watch these for. Both of them can be summarized as Guy (pun unavoidable) in big robot smashing alien invaders. It is not so much a question of what is done, but in how well it is executed. GGG is watched for being many hours of quality destruction, without the usual angst and whining that has been plaguing the genre lately. Once the series gets going after episode 12 it has all of the action and excitement of the super robot genre, without most of the stereotypical problems.

This is a series where the villains are singlemindedly evil and the heroes are courageous and hotblooded to the point of near self destruction in places. That said, most of the characters are memorably portrayed and the voices very much fit the characters.

3

I second Noen, GaoGaiGar and GaoGaiGar Final. They are excellent.

Anyways, here are my recommendations:

<B> Godannar </B> (super robot, complete) 8/10

You could call this the modern take on super robot shows. It’s got excellent characterization, awesome music, great mecha, cool battles, and over the top fanservice. The actual story is focused on a married couple who happen to be pilots. They are already in love, and the plot centers on their relationship. You see this relationship grow into their strength in battle, and it makes the show kickass.

<B> Gunbuster </B> (mecha, complete) 9/10

This show is about Noriko, a girl who aspires to become a great pilot to fight the evil aliens threatening the human race. Sounds corny, but it’s incredibly well executed. You see Noriko grow from an angsty girl to a strong woman. The rest of the cast doesn’t nearly get as much development as her (figures, with only 6 eps), but Noriko herself makes the show worth a watch. If you want something short and kickass, watch Gunbuster. (Also has a very interesting look into how Time Dilation can affect a person. Haha, I’m abusing my power. -TD) (Hahah so am I! -Pier)

<B> Mazinkaiser </B> (super robot, complete) 8/10

Not much of a plot. Dr. Hell wants to take over the world,. Koji has to stop him with his awesome robot, Mazinkaiser. It’s short, cheap, and full of comedy, fanservice, and major amounts of kickass. Want something mindlessly entertaining? Watch this.

<B> Eureka Seven </B> (mecha, ongoing) 8/10 so far.

http://agora.rpgclassics.com/showthread.php?t=25273

<B> Hajime no Ippo </B> (shounen/boxing, complete) 8/10

This show is about Ippo wanting to find out the true meaning of strength, and becomes a boxer. It’s focused on his fights and character development. Keep in mind, that this is a shounen series, meaning Ippo has a 98% chance of winning. It’s great though.

More to come soon >_>

4

Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure (Mecha, complete) 9/10
Kazuki Yotsuga, the class looney, has hallucinations of giant robots duking it out around him and writes about them on his webpage. The eccentric father of the school’s most beautiful and popular girl reads his site and invites him into his basement, wherein Kazuki is teleported accidentally to a parallel universe where the robots he sees are real. An altogether lighthearted plot laced with humor and spiced with drama where nessecary. It’s from the creators of Tenchi Muyo!, so expect some humor regarding the ladies.

Serial Experiments Lain (Modern/Sci-fi, complete) 7/10
This series begins with a schoolgirl committing suicide. Weeks later, Lain Iwakura begins recieving e-mail from the supposedly dead girl, telling her that the girl is still alive in the Wired, this series’ parallel version of the Internet, and that she has only shed her physical body. The series follows Lain as she tries to discover the nature of the Wired and her own origins. Abound in the plot of this series are complex philosophical, theological, sociological and existential concepts, and the plot itself is very confusing. Not reccommended for the non-thinker or thrillseeker.

5

HAHA I WIN MERLIN

Pani Poni Dash (comedy anime)

School-based randominity about Rebecca, an eleven-year-old MIT graduate who teaches class for a group of wildly comedic and weird girls, and the varying side-characters who revolve around their crazy adventures, including a talking terminally-depressed rabbit, a group of aliens who believe she’ll save the world, and class representative Ichijou. It’s omega awesome.

6

Seconded

Giant Robo the Animation (epic fantasy in a post modern setting)

Set in the not too distant future, where the world’s energy problems have been solved through the use of the completely reusable Shizuma drive, which has led to prosperity throughout the world. An organization known as Big Fire is constantly attempting to take over the world, and is more or less counteracted by the International Police Organization. The story centers mainly around a boy named Kusama Daisaku, who issues verbal commands to Giant Robo through what looks like a wristwatch.

The characters are all about as fleshed out as you can get given that the series is only 7 one hour episodes. Several of them have mysterious pasts which become quite important as the story progresses. Most of the major characters have some sort of crazy powers, such as one who can generate large amounts of electricity and a group of 3 brothers who can create a barrier by playing drums.

I’m once again neglecting to summarize the plot, due to the fact that there are many twists and turns along the way. Everything you think you know gets turned on its head at some point or another, only to go in yet another direction by the end.

7

<B> Turn A Gundam </B> (mecha, complete) 9/10

(copied and pasted from my old Turn A Thread)

The mecha designs are a bit odd, but I got used to them by ep 10. (the Turn A Gundam has a moustache >_>)

I like this series so much, because it focuses on story and characters much more than on action. The action though, is still very well choreographed. Not a single re-used animation.

The story takes place after many many many years after a great war, where earth was nearly wiped out, and a few survivors escaped to the moon. Now after a few more hundred years, the moonrace wants to come back to earth. Earth is stubborn, and won’t let them, starting a war. In the middle of this is Loran Cehack, the main character of the series. He was sent to earth from the moon to conduct research. As the earth is being attacked, Loran uncovers a relic of the great war, the Turn A Gundam, and it’s the only weapon that the earth race has against the Moonrace.

The characters are really well developed, my favourite one being Dianna Soriel, the queen of the moon.

The music is beautiful, done by Yoko Kanno (the composer of Cowboy Bebop’s OST).

If you have the time, you should check it out, as it’s the best Gundam series I’ve seen so far, besides Zeta.

It also makes various references to other gundam shows; so you should watch it after you’ve seen quite a bit of gundam.

8

Noir (Modern, complete) 9/10
Mireille Bouquet is an ace assassin based in Paris. When she follows an e-mail from the amnesic Kirika Yuumura (Who, incidentally, happens to know about a million ways to kill a person) and agrees to accompany her, she inherits all sorts of trouble from a mysterious organization with ambiguous motives. Who are the Soldats, and why do they dog our protagonists’ every footstep?

There’s a reason the series did not get a perfect ten, and it is that at times it seemed a little slow. It had a very good and deep plot, they just dragged it out a little too long. However, when the action picks up, it starts to move fast. Noir is an artistic, wonderfully animated, and at times, emotionally charged series. I fully reccommend it. Note: It’s in 16:9 Widescreen.

By the way, I didn’t know you could kill someone with one of tho–Ackk…gaggh…ugh~

9

~Nadia The Secret of Blue Water~
An 39-episode series that has drama, sci-fi, romance, humor, and more. It starts around 1889 France with a young 14-year old girl named Nadia that possess a jewel around her neck known as Blue Water that has a secret. She eventually mets up with Jean, an 14-year old boy inventer that wants to build the greatest invention ever. These two eventually get in trouble from the Grandis Gand (Grandis, Sanson, and Hanson) early on but eventually turn to good guys because a far greater evil existed known as Neo-Atlantean which wants to control the Human Race led by Gargoyle (my Avatar) and his plot to posses Nadia and the mysterious Captain Nemo’s Blue Water. This series was made by Gainax known to create the famous Neon Genesis Evangelion series. What is the Secret…

Additional Info on the Nadia Series:

http://utd500.utdallas.edu/~hairston/nadiahp.html

http://www.thesecretofbluewater.com/nadia00.htm

10

Do they have to be recommendations, or can we do reviews as well? Because I know a series that I would recommend you avoid at almost all costs. Anyway…

Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai (This Ugly and Beautiful World) (complete, but not liscensed?) 9/10
Genre: damned if I know

Takemoto Takeru is a typical teenage boy who laments that no matter what he does the world doesn’t change. All this begins to change when he and his friend Ryou have a close encounter with what vaguely resembles a shooting star that crashes in the woods.

A closer inspection discovers a girl called Hikari with no memory of what she is or where she’s from. Almost immediately, they are attacked by a giant monster intent on taking Hikari, but Takeru himself temporarily transforms into a monster to protect Hikari.

Shortly after the characters begin to accept Hikari’s arrival, Ryou returns to the woods and finds another girl, Akari.
Hikari and Akari learn a little about what life as a human is like, while still searching for their memories. However, after an attack by another monster, the truth begins to come through, and while a few of the characters realized what was coming, what happens will be ultimately determined by Hikari and Takeru.

I’m sure I’ve done no justice to this series. It contains a delightful blend of comedy, action, romance, and more. The characters are given a surprising amount of depth in a mere 12 episodes, and the plot advances even during the fanservice-laden hot springs and beach episodes.

And then there’s Jennifer Portman, the greatest female character ever. While Jennifer may be a stereotypical beer-guzzling, big breasted, blonde American woman, she is also a completely non-stereotypical genius scientist who knows exactly what’s going on and then explains it to everyone else so that she sounds like she’s guessing wildly. She also immediately catches on to the Hikari-Takeru-Mari love triangle.

Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai is Gainax’s 20th anniversary series.

Warning: Series contains nudity.

11

K, so I finished watching all the three Getter OVAs a while ago and here’s what I think of them.

<B>Shin Getter Robo - Sekai Saigo no Hi (aka Getter Robo Armageddon)</b> (super robot, complete)

The first three eps were awesome. It’s about the creator of Getter robots becoming evil, and planning to destroy the world. The only ones that can stop him is Ryoma Nagare and the rest of the Getter Robo team. We get some awesome action sequences such as Ryoma in Getter Robo vs 1000 Getter Robo G’s and crazy insane shit like that.

Then, eps 4-8, are average compared to the epic, dark beginning of the series. Apparently they fired the director cause he took too long and got some new guy. The end result isn’t that good.

Ep 9 is when Ryoma returns, and the series becomes good again, but nearly not as awesome as the beginning. Still, ep 9 - 13 were pretty good, and fun. The ending isn’t too satisfying, but the battles before that are pretty good.

It’s a fun ride, but it really could have been much better. If it kept the quality of the first three eps at the beginning, it could have been one of the BEST super robot OVAs ever. Too bad. Still, it’s pretty entertaining.

BTW, the plot makes no sense, so just ignore it :smiley:

<B> Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo </B> (super robot, complete)

Eh, it’s alright. The evil reptile empire has return from the underworld and want’s to take over the world. One of the getter pilots, Musashi, destroys himself to stop them, if only for a while. Getter energy has been banned because it pollutes the world, and thus they built the Neo Getter Robo which is powered by Plasma instead of Getter Rays.

Ofcourse, the reptiles return, and then Neo Getter has too fight them.

This small series isn’t too bad. It isn’t too good either. It’s nothing special, really. More ryoma could have helped, and maybe Shin Getter should have actually fought Neo Getter. That’s right, the two don’t fight despite the title -_-

Watch it if you have some time to waste.

<B> New Getter Robo </B> (super robot, complete)

Now this series was just awesome. Onis (demons) are attacking the world, and the only defense is the New Getter Robo. Once again, Ryoma has to pilot it once again with his team mates.

The plot is basic, but well executed. It’s also dark and violent, which is a win in my book. The action scenes are really well done too.

I’d say this is a must watch if you are slightly interested in Getter Robo.
An awesome super robot OVA.

Well, that’s it from me for today :slight_smile:

12

I’m gonna review one just to break the monotony >:(

<u><b>Kimi ga Nozumu Eien</b></u>

A tragedy-drama anime that follows the lives of four high school kids growing up, having relationships, and finding that the adult relationships aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be. This anime focuses on their relationships and realistic character development, and as such, contains nothing about magic, giant robots, aliens, fantasy worlds, or any other such fictional nonsense otherwise present in most anime. The beginining is light-hearted and a bit rushed, but the reason for the quick pace becomes apparent as the anime switches the focus to telling the story of their young adult lives, and quickly develops a much more serious tone and pathos for the characters.

Edit: I haven’t quite finished watching yet, but so far I give it a 8.5/10

13

I second Kimi Ga Nozumu Eien.

And there is never enough Super Robots >_>

<B> Planetes </B> (sci-fi, complete)

This is series is simply amazing. In 2075, due to decades of space travel, space debris has become a threat to space crafts. Thus, private companies now clean up the space debris. Yes, that’s right, people collecting garbage in space. But it’s absolutely awesome.

The technology is really realistic. It’s probably the most realistic sci-fi anime. This isn’t about defending earth from aliens, or a war between people in space and on earth. This is about characters living in space. The characters are very well developed. None of them feel pointless and go through growth in a believable and engaging way. The main character, Hachimaki, is a really interesting character, and the sci-fi setting is used to create an awesome setting for a drama.

The first half is character development and the second half, while it still retains the character development, is spent on exploring political and moral issues about humanity and the economy.

Really, if you want to watch a well-written drama set in space with a great cast, you should watch this. The attention to detail in the sci-fi is very nice, and it really creates an awesome setting. If you are looking for some action, well this is not for you.

<B> Gankutsuou - The Count of Monte Cristo </B> (drama, complete)

THIS SERIES IS INCREDIBLE. Based on the story of Monte Cristo, it’s set in the future Paris. The story is about a young noble named Albert, who in his travels, meets the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. Albert soon becomes friends with him, and is shown how beautiful life can be. However, the Count isn’t what he seems to be…

I don’t wanna say anymore because it’ll spoil the plot. But this show has a very good story and really well developed characters. The count himself is an amazing character. He is what makes the show awesome. He is control of the story and the plot is perfectly placed. Everything happens because of him, and every event is set at the right time.

The show chose an interesting art style too. I don’t know how to describe. It was kinda weird at first, but I grew to like it. The music is fantastic too.

Seriously, this show is one of the best animes I have watched. Everything about it is just amazing.

14

Fine, if it you bothers it you that much >_>

<B> Gundam 08th MS Team </B> (mecha, complete)

This show is set during the one year war of the universal century, the war that takes place in the very first Gundam series. You don’t need to have watched it though.

The plot is focused on Shiro Amada, the commander of the new 08th Mobile Suit Team. They go through various missions and battles together.

What I like most about this series is how it’s focused on regular grunts, not some teenager who happened to come across the gundam and has awesome abilities with it. The soldiers have no super powers or anything, but what they do have is teamwork. It was refreshing to see that in a Gundam series. The battles are really well choreographed and are logical.

The characters are also very well written, and their relationships as comrades in war is well developed. There is some romance which feels somewhat forced and un-natural. The ending is kinda weak as well. But it’s still an awesome series.

It’s not as epic as any of the series, but it’s still damn good.

15

This is because TD was bitching about rating stuff.

Negima, AKA Mahou Sensei Negima (harem, complete) 2/10

Take Love Hina; add another 2 dozen girls; switch from an all-girls dorm to an all-girls high school; keep the “Naru” character as the lead female, but make “Shinobu” the main love interest; instead of Keitaro, the male is a 10-year old mage (he’s supposed to keep it a secret) who is appointed the girls’ teacher; and add a perverted, talking ermine for good measure. Now cram all of that into 26 episodes.

This had potential to be a good series, but so many things were done wrong. First of all, it just isn’t possible to introduce 32+ characters in 26 episodes and have more than a handful have any personality. Negima fails even in making more than 2 or 3 characters have any dimension at all. Most of the girls are either entirely flat (the vampire, robot, ghost, ninja, etc.) or just background characters.
In the transition from manga to anime, someone made the decision to downplay the action in the series to focus on the harem aspect. This isn’t necessarily the problem, but using characters with no character this doesn’t work so well. Furthermore, a disproportionate amount of time is spent following the lead female (Asuna) trying to either get over or act on her crush on her previous teacher, and it’s handled with incredible mediocrity.

Finally, the ending of the series, for which a number of minor details were changed so as to not ruin continuity, is completely ridiculous in its stupidity and ultimately irrelevant, thanks to the last 2 minutes of the last episode.

There are a few amusing moments, but they aren’t worth it. Strangely, the one good episode (#19) in this comedy series is the one that takes a serious tone.

Interestingly, I saw in an edition of NewType US that around its finale, Negima was about the 6th most popular series in Japan. 3rd if we aren’t counting Gundams.

16

Full Moon wo Sagashite
(Searching for a Full Moon)
52 episodes

Our series begins with a scene of the main character singing on stage in front of thousands of fans, being watched lovingly from a balconey by a boy, several years her senior. This daydream quickly ends, and the scene cuts to the 12 year-old Mitsuki as she really is, a sickly child suffering from some kind of throat cancer. She loves music and wants to sing professionally, but her doctor, who, in the absence of her dead parents, serves as her father figure, warns both her and her guardian grandmother, who seems to be a cold, overly formal woman who hates music, that such an activity would aggravate Mitsuki’s condition and even endanger her life. In fact, without the proper surgery, he expects that she’ll eventually die from her condition within a few years.

Problem is, said surgery would probably ruin her beautiful voice. What’s a terminal music-lover supposed to do?

Long story short, out pop two adorably dressed death gods from Mitsuki’s wall. The two teens are shocked to find that Mitsuki can actually see them, and accidentally let slip that the reason for their presence is that Mitsuki will perish from her ailment in one year. Lengthier story shorter, turns out that the two death gods will use their magic powers to turn Mitsuki from 12 to 16 years old at a whim. In her healthy 16 year-old form, Mitsuki pursues her dream of being an idol, through which she believes she’ll be able to catch the attention of her long-lost-love, the boy of her daydreams who moved to America when she was 1o and he 16.

The series avoids all the creepiness centered around little girls in anime in the past few years. It’s not a magical girl anime, either - you see Mitsuki transformed from one age to another only once every few episodes. Otherwise, that action is kept off-stage, and is assumed to have happened. For once, the series is all at once innocent, well-paced, heartwarming, and entertaining. Give it a shot.

17

Purge’d. :slight_smile:

Eyeshield 21 (sports/comedy anime/manga, both ongoing)

Eyeshield 21 chooses as it’s focus American Football in Japanese highschools, and follows a 'schooler called Sena as he begins his first days, only to be intercepted by the American Football Club’s alternatly good-natured/psychotic members, and roped into playing. Luckily he has the ability to run insanely fast, and to hide his skill from the other members the club makes him wear an eyeshield on the pitch at all times, leading to the mythic figure of ‘Eyeshield 21’ who no-one can catch. Unfortunately Sena is very weak-willed, and when he gets into a rivalry with the strongest running-back of the best team of the league he’s way out of his depth, and he knows it.

It’s a very light-hearted series and done a thousand times before, but that doesn’t stop it being incredibly entertaining, especially due to Hiruma, the head of the club, and his training regime of automatic weapons, insane dogs and PURE FEAR. Awesome stuff.

18

As a matter of principal, you do NOT delete things, Pierson. You will do well to remember that.

19

Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu (26 episodes)
Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu Deluxe (6 episodes)
Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu Final (~14 fifteen-minute episodes)
(The Jungle Was Always Nice, Then Came Guu)

Classify this as one of the “wacky” series. Of all of them - Excel Saga, Pani Poni Dash, etc - Jungle remains my favorite. The humor is not based on one character’s franticness (Excel) or the inanity of the series’ existence (Pani), but on the weirdness of Guu and all the horrible things she does to Hale.

You see, Hale lives with his mother (who’s originally from the big city) in a jungle community. He’s a good-natured 10 year old kid, a little frantic an energetic at times. One night his mother returns home drunk with a new sister for him - a pale-skinned, red-eyed waif named Guu. Hale and Guu quickly become friends.

The next morning, Hale wakes up and Guu’s personality has change into that of a monotone, cold little monster. And that’s all I’ll describe, because the story doesn’t really matter. The series is all about the characters and what they do to each other in the brightly-colored jungle. You really have to see an episode to understand what the series is like.

20

Hikaru No Go (sports drama)

My favorite anime. A kid gets possessed by a ghost (Sai) who only lives to play go. The ghost convinces Hikaru to play go and the whole series is about his learning process. He develops a rival early on and they both grow because of each other. It sounds boring and that is why I tried it. I wondered how in the world they could get 76 episodes out of a board game, but the writers do an incredible job with it. They really bring out the desire of competition that is innate in a lot of us, especially males.

Monster (Mystery/Drama)

A doctor (Dr. Tenma) struggles with the decision of whether one life is more important than another when he is forced by his superiors to save the life on an important individual, leaving a poor mother’s husband to die. Because of that situation he goes against orders and saves the life a young boy who was shot in the head. It is a decision Dr. Tenma may live to regret.

The writing and character design in this anime is very very good. It does tend to drag a bit, considering it is 74 episodes long and the mystery starts almost immediately. It is well worth fighting through those moments though. You will be consistently surprised by writer’s imagination.