anime movies

[ThirdWizard]

Here's a rundown. I left off Ghibli stuff, which is all good.

Akira - 5/5
Armitage III (technically an OAV) - 4/5
Armitage: Dual-Matrix - 3/5
Blood: the Last Vampire - 4/5
Escaflowne the Movie - 3/5
Ghost in the Shell - 5/5
Grave of the Fireflies - 5/5
Jin Roh - 4/5
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro - 4/5
Metropolis - 3/5
Millennium Actress - 4/5
Ninja Scroll - 2/5
Perfect Blue - 4/5
Project A-Ko - 3/5
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - 4/5
Memories (a collection of 3 shorts):
Cannon Fodder - 2/5
Magnetic Rose - 4/5
Stink Bomb - 3/5

I'll throw in some OAVs that consist of 1-4 DVDs. Most can be purchased in a collector's edition box.

Battle Angel - 4/5
FLCL - 5/5
Goldenboy - 4/5
Oh My Goddess! - 5/5
Read or Die - 3/5
Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal - 5/5

These are just spur of the moment ratings. If you disagree, tough.

 

[cwhs01]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll have to go through the lists and find some to watch. But very cool of ya'll to answer my newbie mangafan questions

 

[Wystan]

Voices from a Distant Star
Howls Moving Castle

 

[Elemental]

Just so you know, all but the first on Elemental's list are series, not movies.

The first and the last--well, it's on one disc. But yeah--that's what happens when you get distracted in between pressing 'reply' and typing the reply.

 

[cwhs01]

Suggestions of One disc compilations is probably okay. I was looking asking for movies so i could see what the fuss was about, wo ruining my budget or it becoming a complicated task of finding and buying 100 episodes of a series i might not even like

But one-disc (possibly even two?) deals are okay i guess, if it's a good story and decent.. err.. drawings?

And again, thanks for the response

 

[WayneLigon]

Suggestions of One disc compilations is probably okay. I was looking asking for movies so i could see what the fuss was about, wo ruining my budget or it becoming a complicated task of finding and buying 100 episodes of a series i might not even like

Netflix is very much your friend here. A lot - a whole lot - of anime is very hit-or-miss with me. Without an internet rental service, I'd have spent a tremendous amount on utter garbage. Netflix has a huge range of older and more current anime and they seem to be pretty good about getting in newer series as they become available. It, or something similar to it, is the best way I know of checking out anime series since sometimes it may take two discs for you to realize or understand what's going on or how the various peices of a seemingly unconnected narrative come together. Your local video place will probably have copies of the more popular series and movies, as well, but not nearly the choices you get with an internet rental deal.

 

[Aus_Snow]

If you haven't seen Ghost in the Shell, I recommend seeing that before almost any other anime movie. Not instead of, but before, mind you.

It wouldn't appeal to everyone, but as far as anime goes, it's definitely a (the?) classic.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Netflix is very much your friend here.

Yes, yes, yes! I've seen some stuff I never would have bought and none of my friends have through Netflix. It's great for those titles I just want to watch once. They've got a good library, and I've really liked using it. It also has saved me much money.

 

[Kesh]

Not yet mentioned [or so I think]
...
X

For the record, I'd recommend the series rather than the movie. The movie is stylish, but tries to pack way too much into a short time. The series gives you a chance to learn what the characters want, and how far they're willing to go to get it.

 

[Black Omega]

Excel Saga: This cannot be described easily. In modern Japan, a secret organisation known as ACROSS seeks to conquer the city and then the world. If they had more than two agents (one of whom perenially dies), they might have a chance.

I've never gotten past the first ep, but might give it a try again. The first ep is pretty funny at times, but incredibly hit and miss for me.

Read or Die: Yomiko Readman is a meek librarian....with truly extraordinary powers over paper, able to use it to block bullets, create weapons or even in one case, a giant-size paper plane. She works for a secret society of super-powered librarians, who are racing against time to fight a conspiracy that involves cloning evil versions of historical figures and using their super-science devices to uncover a certain very dangerous book.

I so recommend this as well. Saw it at Gencon and loved it. Went home and downloaded it. Bought the DVD's when I found them. The idea of the special ops division of the British Royal Library working to save the world somehow works for this anime. And the idea of cloning geniuses from the past is great. Death by paper cuts, indeed.

Battle Angel I liked it well enough I got the manga series that goes with it. Good, cyberpunky, grim styled world with enough hope and strangeness to not be too depressing. There's a little of 'what makes a human human' but it's not half as philosophical about it as other series and the anime movie is a one shot so easy to watch.

Vampire Hunter D A classic. The animation is a little dated, but it had a unique gothic look for the time, not typical anime styled. One of my classic favorite anime movies for the style, the vampire hunting storyline, I first saw it as a dub and liked it, one of few dubs I can say that about.