Anime noob here, any suggestions?

[ProfessorFrink]

I recently picked up the new Gungrave DVD--I'm digging it. Since I'm an anime noob , I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for other animes of this style that I might enjoy.

I've also got The Animatrix and Spawn (if those don't count, I know they're close) so you can probably see a pattern already. I only mention this because I know that asking about anime is similar to asking about videogames--there are many different flavors. (Please, no teenage girl/ fairy suggestions, I'm not interested. Robots/ mechanical designs are difinitely good though. )

I know that Akira is basically a classic (that'll probably be my next anime), but after that, I'm lost.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[RAINBOW PONY]

INITIAL D ^___________^

 

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Cowboy Bebop and Akira are absolute musts. And if you want to be a real anime fan, it would do you good to see Evangelion. Just so know what everyone's talking about when it comes up. And it will.

 

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lol real anime fan.


kill me

 

[slerch666]

INITIAL D ^___________^

The only time I'll EVER recommend a bootleg over the legit release. Don't buy TokyoPoop's release of Initial D.

As far as Anime you'll like, check out Hellsing. I watched Gungrave today and it was reminding me of Hellsing.

Ninja Scroll the MOVIE, not, not, not the TV series. You may enjoy the TV series, I can't say that I'm thrilled with it, but the movie is TOP QUALITY stuff. Rent the TV series to see if you'd like it, as I'd never recommend that to anyone as it's merely so-so.

2 other movies to check out are Vampire Hunter D and the 'sequel' Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.

When you say "Robots/ mechanical designs are difinitely good though", do you mean super robots (think Mazinger/Tranzor Z) or do you mean 'normal' robots (think Gundam or if you need an American equivalent, ExoSquad). They are 2 usually distinct genres and if you hate one type I'd be sure to NOT recommend that type.

One Anime I enjoy, and it's the most watched series I own, is Vandread. Most of my family enjoyed it (2 brothers, my Dad and my sister, all older). It's not a series for everyone but being my most rewatched series (I have 1380+ DVDs at this point) it's got something to it.

 

[RAINBOW PONY]

yeah see evangelion, that way when you see all the fanboys gushing about it, you will know that it's the most overrated anime of all time (which it is). a series like escaflowne is WAY better than eva, mech designs too.

 

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Personally I prefer Rahxephon.
The atmosphere is absolutely PERFECT in that series. I love it. And Yoko Kanno did the music for both.

And not watching teenage girl anime? Well there goes half the genre. Including Azumanga Daioh

 

[genjiglove]

Akira. I know this is probably a cliche response about anime, but Akira is called a classic for a reason. It's one of the best movies ever made.

Also people will say Dragon Ball Z sucks, and they are mostly right, but Dragonball is one of my favorite animes.

 

[RAINBOW PONY]

Akira.

I know this is probably a cliche response about anime, but Akira is called a classic for a reason. It's one of the best movies ever made.

straight anime MOVIES, definetly see:

The Venus Wars
Akira
Ghost in the Shell
The Mobile Suit Gundam Movies
Princess Mononoke
Vampire Hunter D
Fist of the Northstar

 

[ProfessorFrink]

Wow, guys. That was fast! You definitely don't mess around.

Those suggestions sound great, thanks for the info. and explanations. I'm more of a noob here than I first thought.

As for the different mech/ robot styles, what are the differences? I was always a big Transformers fan, does that help?

 

[Mexicant]

i would suggest Samurai Champloo, from the creator of Cowboy Bebop.
It's set in feudal japan with GREAT action and swordplay, it only availible on fansub, but subtitles are the best way to go with alot of anime, most english voices are lame.....

 

[Master Terry Bogard]

These are abit old, but great. If you like action w/ a coolness factor, some suggestions are:

Noir
Cowboy Bebop


Good old fun:

Ranma 1/2
Tenchi Myuo! (only the first season--rest sucked IMHO)

Fantasy

Record of Lodoss War
Escaflowne

For Movies...

Ninja Scroll
Blood the Last Vampire. I have it, but didn't see it yet. But all reports are, that it is a good anime.

<Edit>Forgot to add the original Bubblegum Crisis & Crash. I haven't seen the newer series.

 

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Noir is terrible, avoid.

And Champloo is not nearly as likable as Cowboy Bebop, most people gave up on it after the second episode. Personally, I like it, although Kawasumi Ayako is getting on my nerves.

 

[RAINBOW PONY]

These are abit old, but great. If you like action w/ a coolness factor, some suggestions are:

Noir
Cowboy Bebop


Good old fun:

Ranma 1/2
Tenchi Myuo! (only the first season--rest sucked IMHO)

Fantasy

Record of Lodoss War
Escaflowne

For Movies...

Ninja Scroll
Blood the Last Vampire. I have it, but didn't see it yet. But all reports are, that it is a good anime.

ranma and tenchi are EXCELLENT, but only if you stop watching them after the first season, first season of ranma is amazing, rest is filler crap, hell one entire season is just happosai episodes, another season is all "miracle" cures that fail by the end of the show. although the ranma OVAs and the 2 movies are great, the tenchi movies kinda suck. stick with the ranma manga if you wanna see the rest.

 

[k'_127]

stright movies:

Ninja Scroll
Vampire Hunter D II: Blood Lust
Cowboy Bebop: knocking heaven's door (not anyone will like it)
(I heard "Spireted Away" is also very good, but I haven't seen it yet)

you may also give "Fist of the North Star" and the first "Vapire Hunter D" a shot.

series:

Guyver (classic especially the first half of the series. has a total of 12 episodes)
Ranma (first season only)
Cowboy Bebop (again, you may not like it)

 

[Master Terry Bogard]

I have to agree about ranma 1/2. Some of the later episode can get fairly boring. But I think season 2 was good too--just not great as season 1. Oh yeah, manga ver is still the best.

As for Noir. Personally, I think this is a kind of anime, that people can really like/hate it. But I like it. Why Not check out the web to see why people liked/hated the anime.

 

[Kazuki Dash]

since most folks have the major bases covered, I'll humbly add some additional suggestions:

Dagger of Kamui
great ninja anime with amazing story, more of an adventure theme than you'd expect from a ninja story (only available Subbed)

City Hunter: the Motion Picture
perfect blend of action and comedy

Riding Bean
short but sweet flick about an ultra-cool metahuman and his awesome ride (I think Subbed sounds better than the Dubbed voices)

and I can't believe no one's told you to try and find a fansubbed episode of Naruto on the web...I can't wait till this sees a domestic release

 

[Neon_Sonic]

Neon Genesis Evangelion (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111111111111)
Cowboy Bebop
Trigun
Ghost In The Shell
RahXephon

You might also like Naruto, but it's a bit lighter.

 

[Kid Aphex]

If you're new into anime perhaps you should experience it the way it was meant to be experienced---start from the earliest anime, and move your way up. Really lame, girlish, light-steppin new shit like Naruto, Initial D, etc...really can't hold a candle to seemingly "ancient" classics like Fist of the Northstar, Venus Wars, Robot Carnival and Akira.

But, that's my opinion.

 

[Kazuki Dash]

that's actually good advice Aphex, as it may help one get a good appreciation for the evolution of Anime over the years and be more open-minded towards anime titles in general...if you tried to do the opposite, you'd probably find the earlier stuff not flashy enough and possibly overlook some true gems...

 

[Kid Aphex]

that's actually good advice Aphex, as it may help one get a good appreciation for the evolution of Anime over the years and be more open-minded towards anime titles in general...if you tried to do the opposite, you'd probably find the earlier stuff not flashy enough and possibly overlook some true gems...

Exactly. Such is the case with EVERYTHING [games especially...]

 

[SouthtownKid]

Some of the things I constantly hear recommended baffle me.

straight anime MOVIES, definetly see:

The Venus Wars -- the comic was 10 million times better.
Akira -- again, the comic was much better, although the movie is very good.

The Mobile Suit Gundam Movies -- I'd only reccomend the original 3 movies, adding Char's Counterattack only if you watched the Z and ZZ series. F-91 is o.k., but not much more than a redux of the original.

Vampire Hunter D -- is the real 'most overrated anime of all time'.
Fist of the Northstar -- the movie is crap compared to the tv series, and compared to the comic...there just aren't words. Skip the movie. And if you do end up watching the tv or movie, for the love of creatures great and small, avoid the dub.

Meanwhile, the ones everyone reccomends that I agree with:
Princess Mononoke -- any Miyazaki, really.

Ninja Scroll -- is just fun to watch

Cowboy Bebop -- never heard of someone not liking it, but I guess I don't know too many people who watch anime, so I guess it's possible.

Ghost in the Shell -- both the movie and the comic are great, and different enough from each other to make checking both out worthwhile.

Those aren't the only good movies, and I wouldn't even say they're my favorites (except for Miyazaki), but they're pretty safe bets. Meaning, chances are slim you'd actually hate one of them.

Another thing I'd mention is that just about any tv series based on a long running comic (Dragon Ball, Naruto, Yuyu Hakysho, Fist of the North Star, Ranma 1/2... hell, even Initial D), the comic version is almost always WAY better.

 

[genjiglove]

Fist of the Northstar

Yes, FotNS rules. I love anything with over the top gore, and this one certainly delivers. But it's also got a good storyline behind it.

 

[seba_boi]

Cowboy Bebop...

Personally I prefer Rahxephon.
The atmosphere is absolutely PERFECT in that series. I love it. And Yoko Kanno did the music for both.

What?... As far as I know Yoko Kanno composed ONLY the opening theme Hemisphere (sung by Maaya Sakamoto)...

 

[k'_127]

Really lame, girlish, light-steppin new shit like Naruto, Initial D, etc...really can't hold a candle to seemingly "ancient" classics like Fist of the Northstar, Venus Wars, Robot Carnival and Akira.

But, that's my opinion.

Holy .... someone finally said it. 100% agree. one of my friends completely abandoned games so that he finds time watching this crab. he said to me once that Naruto is better than Guyver .... I was really gonna beat him.


he thought that I don't like animes and don't watch them anymore. but then I told him about new animes being shit compared to older ones. so we started arguing about it.

I completely agree with Kid Aphex here about starting with older animes.

Exactly. Such is the case with EVERYTHING [games especially...]

and he refuses to play games like Zelda LttP and Castlevania SotN for the very same reason