Top Five Anime Picks

[Mog Elffoe]

The rumor that I had heard was that Media Blasters had picked it up, but I've been unable to confirm it through website (seems to be down.)

My friends and I have worked anime cons for years, so I tend to trust rumors I hear from them. Still, we could be mistaken.

I just heard back from Mike Pascuzzi with Media Blasters--they do indeed have Giant Robo. No release date has been set for it on DVD though.

Thanks, Avouz! I'm pretty jazzed about this now.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I was going to include Gundam initially, but I realized thinking it over that much as I love the mecha and the universe and Haman Khan ("AH! Haman-sama!), none of the actual series were all time favorites of mine.

I feel mostly the same way...though I'd rather ignore about half of ZZ. Other than that, though, the main UC stuff is just amazing.

Ahhh, it feels good to have dragged out some older titles. Some I'd forgotten about. And I haven't seen Totoro in a while...got a copy somewhere, need to watch again.

 

[WizarDru]

I was going to include Gundam initially, but I realized thinking it over that much as I love the mecha and the universe and Haman Khan ("AH! Haman-sama!), none of the actual series were all time favorites of mine.

Heh. Yeah, I know what you mean. I have a lot of series like that. Hlaf of them are, of course, fighting series...and half of those involving pretty boys in armor.

I should have included Project A-Ko as a runner up as well. It is probably the funniest single anime movie I've ever seen and has almost enough anime in-jokes to go toe to toe with Airplane!. Great BGM as well.

Poor A-ko. Hilarious and ground-breaking, I just can't shake all the negative connotations I associate with its sequels, which I just didn't dig nearly as much.

You know despite Cowboy Beebop being on nearly everyone's lists. I just never could quite get into the series. It does have a very high cool quotient, terrific characters and a great BGM, but most episodes never really seemed to go anywhere.

I like Bebop a lot, but it is much more about style than substance. But I don't think that was ever in doubt, really. It also has tremendous crossover appeal, in that it reaches a large non-anime audience, I think. It doesn't deal as heavily in many of the anime tropes that put a lot of fans off, and that's part of it's popularity.

In truth, Beserk! was much more likely to make the short-list than Bebop, but a short margin. And for those who didn't know, the anime's end is not the end of the story, just the place they stopped when the series was cancelled (and an odd choice of location to stop, I might add). They should put a Surgeon General's warning on the last volume of episodes, really, for the unprepared. Luckily, the manga continues on with the story...and what a great story it is.

 

[drnuncheon]

There's one I've been trying to find where 2 warrior/mage's are protecting a little blonde girl they call "princess" who will supposedly spell the end of the world. The spells in this were amazing! I always wanted to see more of this.

Sounds liked Scrapped Princess. You can get fansubs over BitTorrent.

The one I've been watching recently (via fansub also) is Full Metal Alchemist - I like the more serious main arc episodes better than the comedic side plots.

Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, Lodoss War (the originals) and Mononoke are the ones that I've purchased.

I also greatly enjoyed Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory when I watched it many years ago, mostly because I felt like I could respect both sides - but the last time I tried to watch it, post 9/11, I found I couldn't do that anymore.

J

 

[WizarDru]

but the last time I tried to watch it, post 9/11, I found I couldn't do that anymore.

Yeah, that kind of summarizes Gundam Wing, for me.

 

[Krug]

Just wanted to add that Interstella 5555, done by Leiji Matsumoto with French band Daft Punk was a whole lotta fun.

 

[Arnwyn]

My top 5:

1) Macross (and all it's incarnations)
2) Cowboy Bebop
3) Ghost in the Shell/GITS: SAC
4) Record of Lodoss War (both OAV and series)
5) Vision of Escaflowne

Honorable Mentions:
- Dirty Pair (all OAVs, and especially the movie)
- El Hazard
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Patlabor (series, OAVs, & movies)
- Armitage III
- Tenchi Muyo (1st TV series + 1st & 3rd movies only)
- Wolf's Rain
- Gunslinger Girls
- Fullmetal Alchemist

 

[Rackhir]

Poor A-ko. Hilarious and ground-breaking, I just can't shake all the negative connotations I associate with its sequels, which I just didn't dig nearly as much.

What sequels are you talking about? I have heard blasphemous rumors of such things, but no honorable, morally upright person would admit to having viewed such abominations.

I also greatly enjoyed Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory when I watched it many years ago, mostly because I felt like I could respect both sides - but the last time I tried to watch it, post 9/11, I found I couldn't do that anymore.

Is that because of the colony drop? That's the only 9/11-ish thing I could think of off hand.

Ankh-Morpork Guard

I would assume your Zeta copy is one of the illegal subtitled sets from Hong Kong. I actually have both the Zeta and ZZ LD boxed sets, by the way. I would dearly love for them to release them dubbed or subtitled on LD over here.

BTW. I have heard that they are going to be releasing SD Gundam SEED for the PS2 over here, I think around sept. If it's anything like the earlier games, it should be terrific.

 

[Velenne]

Sounds liked Scrapped Princess. You can get fansubs over BitTorrent.

Thank you thank you thank you! I've been looking for that one forever!

 

[Uzumaki]

Just wanted to add that Interstella 5555, done by Leiji Matsumoto with French band Daft Punk was a whole lotta fun.

Dood, I love that series of videos. First saw One More Time at night on the top floor of a Paris hotel, with the window open and the sounds of the Parisian nightlife surrounding me. Damn, was that cool. I didn't know they made a movie concluding it. Thanks for the heads up Krug.