Top Five Anime Picks

Maraxle · May 24, 2004

Dareoon Dalandrove said:
The name of that one would be If you don't got nothing to say don't say anything at all.

Yup, that's the one! Thanks.

Velenne · May 24, 2004

Based on some opinions in this thread, I went out last night and rented Berserk. I give it a 5/10 having watched the first 5 episodes. Does it get better? The animation was average and got very sloppy/simplistic in the fight scenes. The music is clunky. The characters are interesting but um... playing with water with a naked man? Guts you cad, I didn't know!

I was expecting pulse-pounding action, but instead got another brooding, soul-tortured, dark-haired, anti-hero.

On to my top 5:

Give me Cowboy Bebop anyday. The master of all anime's.

Follow it up with some Ninja Scroll...the first one of course.

There's more that I like but I can't remember the names. Sometimes one gets in the mood for goofier fare and there's always Full Metal Panic! and Spirited Away.

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.

Another had a single over-macho warrior in a group of 3 female adventurers. His father was a powerful wizard but he never developed the knack for it (or much of anything besides being getting into trouble) and it doesn't look like he'll amount to anything until one of the 3 females (the priestess) is told by her god that she'll marry him. She promptly freaks out. Wish I could remember the name...

Ankh-Morpork Guard · May 24, 2004

zen_hydra said:
Sorry if this is off topic, but I am trying to find some peace of mind. I am hoping a fellow anime fan can convince me that I didn't just waste several hours of my life on what seems to be a completely garbage series, and that I just don't "get it." I was talked into watching the whole Evangelian series (plus the ending movie) and I can't understand why anyone likes this pretentious drivel. It started as an only marginally poor giant robot anime, but ended up being the story of a bunch of self loathing, suicidal idiots (the worst being Shinji the main character). The end left more questions than answers and was so mind-bendingly discombobulating that I thought that my head would explode. Can someone please explain to me why I am wrong, and put this show in perspective for me?

As someone else said, with Eva...you either love it or hate it. Even though I'm a huge mecha fan, I just hated it. I managed to watch the whole series to TRY to give it a chance, but it was just...disturbing. You aren't the only one who thinks its garbage.

WayneLigon · May 24, 2004

Velenne said:
Another had a single over-macho warrior in a group of 3 female adventurers. His father was a powerful wizard but he never developed the knack for it (or much of anything besides being getting into trouble) and it doesn't look like he'll amount to anything until one of the 3 females (the priestess) is told by her god that she'll marry him. She promptly freaks out. Wish I could remember the name...

Rune Soldier, AKA Rune Soldier Louie AKA Mahou Senshi Riui

Avouz · May 24, 2004

Ankh-Morpork Guard said:
And I'm surprised how many things people are listing that are really NEWER shows. C'mon people, am I the only person hanging onto the 'past' of Anime here?

...I'm too young to be the Anime Diaglo....

Don't worry. You're not the only oldtimer around here. I've been an anime fan almost as long as I've been a gamer.

My favs (nearly all old school.)

1) Kimagure Orange Road. I'm a bit of a sucker for the anime teenage comedies and this one is the best. For those who haven't seen it, it's a nice trip down memory lane for high school.

2) Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. The best of the Gundam series by far. (I believe this is due out on DVD later this year.)

3) Tenchi Muyo. Another sci-fi teenage comedy. Thank God the third OAV series is finally being released after so long.

4) Record of Lodoss Wars. This series introduced me to anime and I've not left since.

5) Giant Robo. 1930s serials meets giant robot anime. More plot twists and cliffhangers than you can shake a stick at. Thankfully, it is coming on DVD soon.

Villano · May 24, 2004

As a kid, I'd have to say Star Blazers, Battle of The Planets (aka G-Force), Robotech, and Tranzor Z (aka Mazinger Z). The Macross Saga of Robotech still holds up well today (possibly Star Blazers, too, but I haven't seen that since it originally aired). All of the above have been released on vhs or dvd except, afaik, Tranzor Z. I really wish someone would. I loved that show as a kid.

Today, you, of course, have Cowboy Bebop. I think it's one of the best-looking series with some pretty interesting characters. However, I have to admit that, for having such a definite end, it never felt like there was an overlying story arc. I didn't really care for that aspect of it since it makes the ending feel as if it just comes out of nowhere. The individual episodes were all great, though.

Fooly Cooly (FLCL) is another beautiful looking series. It doesn't make any sense, but it's fun.

Tenchi Muyo is another classic. Also, by the same creators is Dual, which is another fun series. Kind of like Tenchi but with alternate universes and giant robots (although the robots are a background issue...it's not really a giant robot anime). If you enjoyed Tenchi, you'll probably like Dual.

And, love DBZ or hate it, you have to admit the original Dragonball was pretty good.

Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't add Ninja Scroll. I've heard the tv series isn't very good, though, which bums me out.

I had to leave Giant Robo off the list. While I love the designs and the story seems interesting, I watched a badly subtitled version. It's impossible to understand. It's like the subs were written by someone who didn't speak English who was just using a Japanese/English dictionary. Add to that, things were constantly misspelled and they always used "should" for "could" and "would". It was too confusing to enjoy.

So, if you happen to be temped by those imported Giant Robo dvd box sets on eBay, don't buy it! They may be cheap, but they aren't worth it.

Anyway, I'm currently enjoying Those Who Hunt Elves, Outlaw Star, Inuyasha, Ultimate Muscle, and Yu-Yu Hakusho. Inuyasha came very close to making my top 5, but I had to go with Dragonball since it was such a landmark series. It's defintely worth checking out on Cartoon Network if you haven't.

Also, I'm only 4 episodes into TWHE, but I found it pretty funny. www.rightstuf.com is unloading their Elves vhs for $0.99 each. They're sold out of one volume (#4, I think), but you can't go wrong with getting a series for $6 or so (not counting shipping).

Kesh · May 24, 2004

1) Cowboy Bebop - 'nuff said.

2) X (TV) - Very stylish, with excellent music and some good characters.
3) Perfect Blue - What if Alfred Hitchcock had made an animated film?
4) Wolf's Rain - I'm just getting into this one, but it's quickly growing on me.
5) Princess Mononoke - Good action, lots of wonderful symbolism and mythology.

Honorable mentions go to Akira, Outlaw Star and Gundam W (aka Gundam Wing).

I've been trying to watch FLCL on Cartoon Network... great animation, but it makes no friggin' sense whatsoever. o.o

Ankh-Morpork Guard · May 24, 2004

Avouz said:
2) Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. The best of the Gundam series by far. (I believe this is due out on DVD later this year.)

Ahh, but I already have it all. How...best not to discuss.

Oh, and Kesh...Gundam W....Honoroable Mention? I feel like crying suddenly...

Velenne · May 24, 2004

WayneLigon said:
Rune Soldier, AKA Rune Soldier Louie AKA Mahou Senshi Riui

You are my hero! That's it! *quickly goes to find it locally*

Anyone know about my other dilemma?

Velenne said:
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.