Who loves anime here?

[MrSylvester]

Hail Mary, conceived without original sin,

Ok, so recently, as in, in late January to early February, I started watching a certain anime which I heard was critically acclaimed and very, very famous in order to bring me out of my writers block nd man, did I become obsessed with anime from then on. I made this thread to find out what you people think about anime in general. Which anime do you like? What do you hate about it? Do you think its immoral or something? For me, here is a small list of my favorite anime in no particular order:

Neon Genesis Evangelion.



Oh my goodness Neon Genesis Evangelion is great. My favorite work of fiction used to be the comic book Watchmen (it still is one of my all time favorite books though!); I loved it because of the deep characterization, because of the narrative style, because of the way the themes were put forth and the way it forced you to think. And then I saw Neon Genesis Evangelion. Just seeing the first episode made me IMMEDIATELY hooked to it. It's characters are very flawed and sometimes even pathetic but at the same time, they're likable and contrary to popular belief, Shinji Ikari actually does a lot of things we'd consider 'badass'. He starts out as very weak but as the series goes on, he really changes for the better. He's my favorite character, along with Misato Katsuragi and Rei Ayanami. Now I just need to watch end of Evangelion to get over the shows last two episodes which made no bloody sense. Congratulations indeed!

CLANNAD.



Setting aside that ALL the female characters under the age of 20 wear ridiculously short skirts therefore making their clothes immodest, CLANNAD is a very good story, taking a lot of clichés, playing with them and making something totally unique with them. It was a breath of fresh air for me as it brought me away from seeing all of these depressing anime and stories that I love so much. True, CLANNAD is rather sad but its sad not in a way that makes you hate yourself and cry out to the heavens asking why there is so much evil in the world. It, together with the Blessed Mother's help of course, taught me a lot of things about life and talking to people.

Haruhi Suzumiya.



Let me be the first to say that this show does contain some rude jokes regarding Haruhi's treatment of Mikuru (in a way that she doesn't know that she's doing wrong in my opinion though. It still doesn't justify it of course). However, by the end of season 2, this is totally subverted in a very heartwarming but sad way. Regardless, Haruhi Suzumiya taught me a lot of making your own personality and being yourself by being what you WANT to be and not by doing what you FEEL you want to be. The characters are all fun, flawed and extremely likable; Haruhi who comes off as a well meaning jerk who is bored with the world around her but what she doesn't know is that she has reality warping powers on the level of a god. Kyon would probably be the most normal and boring person you would ever meet if he existed in real life if ti were not for his VERY funny lines and observational skills. The rest of the SOS brigade, the school club founded by Haruhi to discover and investigate weird happenings, consists of Yuki Nagato who is an android build by an evolved alien race called the data overmind to look over Haruhi (she's sort of an expy of Rei Ayanami from Evangelion), Itsuki Koizumi who is a member of an organization dedicated to yes, looking over Haruhi and destroying any threats she brings up and Mikuru Asahina who is a timetraveller sent to yes, look over Haruhi.

Before I saw the anime, I saw the movie, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvVT3UYGCPI I watched it all in one sitting, that is, 3 HOURS but man was it worth it. The scenes at the end really made me tear up and I was one who didn't know ANYTHING about Haruhi Suzumiya in the first place. Its now one of my favorite films ever. Its well worth the watch. Also, the anime has really good music!

Elfen Lied.



Don't let that picture fool you, this isn't Clannad 2.0 with faeries, Elfen Lied is very depressing, is very, very gory and has a lot of (albeit non-sexual) nudity. Its not Seinen for nothing. However, unlike idiotic movies like Hostel where the gore is played just for the sick enjoyment of the audience, Elfen Lied's gore is played for tragedy and for us to see the sadness of the situation. I haven't finished the anime yet and I hear that the anime ends on a massive cliffhanger but I still hear it was critically acclaimed, I still like it and in the future I think I'll buy the manga just to finish the story. Really like the characters especially that of Lucy.

Death Note.



What would happen if an ordinary human being suddenly got the power to kill whoever he wanted, however he wanted? Death Note explores this theme with Light Yagami who gets his hands on a Notebook aptly named Death Note that kills whosoever name is written in it. So many people die mysteriously that the police start to suspect that single person is responsible for all of these deaths and they call in the help of a special investigator called L who is convinced that Light Yagami is Kira. Its very well written.

[MrSylvester]

So which anime do you guys like?

[Z_Ninja]

I grew up on Speed Racer (most likely reruns) then early 80's loved (and still do) Macross (Robotech is okay, but very lacking compared to the original). Gunslinger Girl is also a very good series although also a bit depressing. Trinity Blood and Blood + are good as well. Death Note is awesome and I love the Initial D series. My wife got me into Weiss Kreuz when we were dating. I started watching High School of the Dead and I also enjoyed Hellsing. There are quite a bit more, just can't think of the titles off the top of my head.

I think I like Anime a lot.

there are quite a few here that love anime, there are a few threads in the popular media section.

[Paul1Up]

Well, my favorite series are Noir, Kaiba, Kemonozume, Trinity Blood, Utawarerumono, Macross Frontier, and The Soul Taker and my favorite movies are Royal Space Force - The Wings of Honneamise, Akira, Spriggan, Armitage III, and Princess Mononoke. I've watched and enjoyed many others but these are my favorites. Of all the extra stuff related to anime, I only buy soundtracks as I really do dig the music in so many shows. Never really got into all the figurines, wallscrolls, and other merch.

To answer your other questions, I don't believe that anime are immoral in and of themselves, I think that it is a matter of attitude how one approaches each particular show. As for what I like about anime, I'd say it ranges from the interesting plots and characters, colorful and beautiful animation, and definitely the music. What I don't like are cliches that I see over and over and over again, obscure endings, and lazy 'animation' (like only animating the characters' mouths for minutes at a time).

[Lokabrenna]

I'm more of a casual anime fan. I watched the dubbed versions of Pokemon, Digimon, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, Dragon Ball and Dragonball Z when I was a kid. Then I went through a period when I didn't watch much anime at all. Now I'll check out a show if I'm interested, but the DVDs are so expensive now.

I've enjoyed Hell Girl, Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, and Otome Youkai Zakuro. If it's in the fantasy or horror genre I'll probably give it a look see. I've tried to get into magical girl shows again, but I think Sailor Moon and Cardcaptors forever associate that genre with childhood for me.

[TheTrueCentrist]

I have more or less outgrown my taste for anime, although I still think that Ghost in the Shell SAC is some of the best sci-fi I've had the pleasure to watch.

[Hastrman]

Originally Posted by TheTrueCentrist

I have more or less outgrown my taste for anime, although I still think that Ghost in the Shell SAC is some of the best sci-fi I've had the pleasure to watch.

Heh, GitS SAC is passable cyberpunk, if we're calling that science fiction. I don't.

I'm continually impressed, though, by the little touches in things that have no business being good science fiction. I mean, "Girl Who Leaped Through Space" (no relation to Girl Who Leaped Through Time) was just a way for the staff to unwind after doing "Code GEASS", much like FLCL was their vacation after Evangelion, but Leopard-colony is described as an O'Neill Island Three...because it (he, technically, it's got an AI) is (it's a cylindrical space colony with solar-collecting mirrors.

Or this fairly forgettable romance manga, Himawari, where a guy finds a woman in a crashed spaceship: she doesn't know how to drink without a straw, because you have to use straws in zero-g (they think she's an alien, but I get the definite impression she's actually a bioroid designed for space-travel).

Kiddy Grade (which should've been marketed under a new title in the US) was just an excuse to draw hot girls and cool robots, but their ship's inertia-dampener system makes it harder for missiles to hit them, and they get into orbit with space-elevators. I've yet to see those in any western sci-fi media (well, except Halo, but that's because it's the closest thing to hard science fiction ever committed to any visual medium, at least that also has a decent plot).

[patrick457]

Another anime and manga fan here. Being busy with work and school I don't really watch that much anime or read manga that much nowadays, but generally I'm a fan of Studio Shaft productions, especially those by director Akiyuki Shinbo. (Read: Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the Monogatari series, Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei) And Evangelion is a classic.

[Milliardo]

Wait, the last two episodes of the original Evangelion series didn't make any sense? Well, it would once one realizes the whole allegorical view of the series. I always advise those getting into the anime to first watch the last two episodes, then watch the whole series until episode 26. The key to understanding the whole thing is actually in the last two episodes.

And yes, Evangelion is still my top favorite anime.

[MrSylvester]

Originally Posted by Milliardo

Wait, the last two episodes of the original Evangelion series didn't make any sense? Well, it would once one realizes the whole allegorical view of the series. I always advise those getting into the anime to first watch the last two episodes, then watch the whole series until episode 26. The key to understanding the whole thing is actually in the last two episodes.

And yes, Evangelion is still my top favorite anime.

Congratulations! Evangelion is also my favorite anime, together with the film The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. That film was just sweet all around.

I'm going to watch some other anime soon. FLCL, Code Geass, GunSlinger Girl, Ah! My Goddess and Cowboy Bebop look interesting. Not so sure about some others though. Naruto looks like it would suck a lot seeing all the negative things people have to say about it, calling it overhyped and containing nothing but padding in its plot, etc... I don't mean to offend you if you like it, I'm just saying what I heard. I DEFINITELY am going to avoid watching Pokemon and Yu gi Oh. Not only am I too old to see them now but even as a kid, I wasn't a fan and never had a chance at watching the latter. Besides, they're obviously pandering to little children in order to devour their parent's cash. In fact, I go so far as to say that if you like any merchandise driven show, you are only lying to yourself as no sane person can like such idiocy.

[MrSylvester]

JUST KIDDING!!!!! I was only joking, you people can take a joke can't you? I used to watch Digimon all the time as a kid and I still have fond memories of it. But Pokemon and other such shows don't appeal to me at all and I'm one who actually enjoys Ponyo by Studio Ghibli. Its what got me into watching Noen Genesis Evangelion in the first place and subsequently, anime. To make up for my statement, heres a funny picture of a L being cute and all so that all you anime fans would get pacified instead of going at my throat. What thats still not enough of an apology? What do you mean I'm being insensitive by depicting all anime fans as pitchfork wielding otak... erk! I'm having a ehart attack! Curses!

[Paul1Up]

Originally Posted by Lokabrenna

I'm more of a casual anime fan. I watched the dubbed versions of Pokemon, Digimon, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, Dragon Ball and Dragonball Z when I was a kid. Then I went through a period when I didn't watch much anime at all. Now I'll check out a show if I'm interested, but the DVDs are so expensive now.

I've enjoyed Hell Girl, Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, and Otome Youkai Zakuro. If it's in the fantasy or horror genre I'll probably give it a look see. I've tried to get into magical girl shows again, but I think Sailor Moon and Cardcaptors forever associate that genre with childhood for me.

DVDs are so expensive now? I don't know where you live, but in the U.S. anime DVDs have never been cheaper. I can now buy an entire season of my choice of most shows for 20-40 dollars. Back in the day, I was buying Evangelion on VHS, 2 episodes and $25 dollars per tape (taking inflation into account that'd be about $39 today).

[Lokabrenna]

Originally Posted by Paul1Up

DVDs are so expensive now? I don't know where you live, but in the U.S. anime DVDs have never been cheaper. I can now buy an entire season of my choice of most shows for 20-40 dollars. Back in the day, I was buying Evangelion on VHS, 2 episodes and $25 dollars per tape (taking inflation into account that'd be about $39 today).

That explains it. I live in Canada, if you want the latest series you should be prepared to fork over at least $60 (if you go to a retailer like HMV), shopping online is better, but it depends on how much they charge for shipping.

These days, you get two more episodes for $39!

[lauraabarlow]

Originally Posted by MrSylvester

So which anime do you guys like?

My kids are into bleach and naruto. Adding to that list is Pokomen, Gintama, Sengoku, High School of the Dead, and Inuyasha. I don't know much about anime other than Pokomen and Naruto yet know that Pokomen is very huge in Japan still (I was there last summer for my annual tour with the Air Force Reserves-Yakota AB). My kids are 18 and 9 years of age-yes, I am getting very old-lol!!!

[lauraabarlow]

Okay-if I must pick, I like Pokomen. Good always wins in the end.