Any Good Anime Reccomendations

miss_cheif

Everyone has to see Akira, which inspired the Matrix. Ghost in the Shell, because it revolusionised the way western countries saw anime and Spirited Away because it is simply that good.
Other reconmendations are Ray Earth and Bubble Gum Crash (3 parter) as well as the most recent episodes version, Bubble Gum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 though this one is hard to find in Ireland.

Gilgamesh

recently got Appleseed and was quite impressed by it.
otherwise, most of the above, depending on your taste

Malafus

miss_cheif wrote:

Everyone has to see Akira, which inspired the Matrix. Ghost in the Shell, because it revolusionised the way western countries saw anime and Spirited Away because it is simply that good.
Other reconmendations are Ray Earth and Bubble Gum Crash (3 parter) as well as the most recent episodes version, Bubble Gum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 though this one is hard to find in Ireland.

I think you mean "Ghost in the Shell, because it inspired The Matrix" and "Akira, because it revolutionised....."

Zen 2nd

No if you look at the box of Akira it actually states on it that it inspired the Matrix or something along those lines.

Malafus

Zen 2nd wrote:

No if you look at the box of Akira it actually states on it that it inspired the Matrix or something along those lines.

Umm..... sure, whatever you say.... but it was GitS that is accredited with inspiring the Matrix, and Akira is the anime that started making the genre more mainstream over in the States.


Edit: "But perhaps the deepest sign of its influence was its impact on the Wachowski brothers, creators of "The Matrix" and its sequels, who openly admitted to being inspired by "GitS" in the creation of their own existentialist action trilogy."

Zen 2nd

I just got the DVD box and it says;

"No Akira, no Matrix, it's that important" Empire

I'm not denying that Ghost in the Shell was an influencing factor, I'm just saying Akira was one.

Malafus

Zen 2nd wrote:

I just got the DVD box and it says;

"No Akira, no Matrix, it's that important" Empire

I'm not denying that Ghost in the Shell was an influencing factor, I'm just saying Akira was one.

I see.... and why do Empire get to decide that? I don't see much in common between Akira and The Matrix, you can't really draw a unique comparison between the psychic powers in Akira and the manipulation of The Matrix, mainly because this sort of psychic prowess is common in many films before, and since, Akira. It's a very popular theme in movies, comics, anime, etc.
Empire actually don't imply that this film inspired the Matrix.... here's the link to their review that the quote was taken from: http://www.empireonline.co.uk/athome/movies/review.asp?id=7729
The quote is designed so that you infer greater meaning than is actually there. The Wachowski brothers said that GitS inspired the Matrix, they never said anything about Akira(to the best of my knowledge).

Zen 2nd

Straigth from the issue of Empire that the quote "No Akira, no Matrix, it's that important" came from.

This was said.

"Laurence Fishburne, meanwhile, who would be cast as Morpheus after Val Kilmer passed, recalls being asked to watch three key animés: Ghost in the Shell, Akira and Ninja Scrolls"

CuLT

Zen 2nd wrote:

Straigth from the issue of Empire that the quote "No Akira, no Matrix, it's that important" came from.

This was said.

"Laurence Fishburne, meanwhile, who would be cast as Morpheus after Val Kilmer passed, recalls being asked to watch three key animés: Ghost in the Shell, Akira and Ninja Scrolls"

Hehe, which obviously directly implies that if Laurence Fishbourne hadn't watched Akira, The Matrix would never have been made.

Basically, it's hype.

Zen 2nd

Why would he be told to watch those?

Maybe becuase the Wachowski brothers had seen them and told him to watch them maybe because that those animé would have some connection to the Matrix? No?

CuLT

Oh, I'm not saying that there's no influence (though I don't see any and I've watched both films extensively), I just think there's more of that influence from John Woo films.

I certianly don't entertain the notion that without Akira, The Matrix wouldn't have been made. Perhaps though it's something like the Brothers saw the film when it came out and it got them interested in Japanese filmography? Even then, who's to say they wouldn't have seen another anime film and gone in the same direction?

Zen 2nd

ah okay I'll just leave it at that then. This thread was designed for a different purpose.

I don't think in the end that are discussion has any great meaning to it as Akira, Ghost in the Shell and indeed The Matrix are very extremely good movies anyway.

Also does anyone know what Mezzo is like?

Placebo

Okay im looking for a series that i can stick to, i havent seen anything decent in a long time,
Love Hina
Chobits
Love Hina got a bit boring afterwards, I only watched first few episodes of chobits, i cant remember why i stopped.
I recently Seen that post about Full Metal Alchemist and i downloaded the first episode and the starting was good but rest of it just looks awful.
I enjoyed Golden Boy and not because it was pervy, the animation was great but mostly the story line was so basic and hitting the asian culture, loved it.
I might check out Naruto again, i have some Paranoi Agent but it seems to 'serious' for me, Samurai Champaloo isnt holding my attention either. Anyone have anything for me ? Just looking for something easy, maybe hint of love , boy lusting over girl etc. No robots.
Also liked Serial Experiments lain, maybe because it was short and different.

As far as Movies go, im not sure about the first Ghost In A Shell but the 2nd:innocence was rubbish, i thought. The Metaphors were a bit over the line and repetetive, would put one to sleep.
My Favs:

Perfect Blue
Ninja Scroll
Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust
Princess Monoke
Grave of the Fireflys
Street Fighter [first one, not alpha]
Akira
Castle in the Sky
Wonderful Days

cant think of the rest at the moment, very limited library i have
I have Wolf Brigade [havent seen it yet], My freind took my Spirited Away DVD i bought in thailand months before it was released and i still havent seen it , downloaded the new Apple Seed, thinking it would be good but flicked through bits and it looks as bad as the first one, which i rented from LASER a while ago. Have FF:Advent children, havent watched that yet either.

Makaveli

Try FLCL, it's funny stuff and only six episodes long, seeing as nothing seems to hold your attention past the first episode or so it should suit.

cade

zen 2nd, mezzo is okay, worth looking into, the action in it is good the stories are realistic (somewhat), not really much character insight or progression, mezzo forte is the prequal u might wanna check out first, personaly haven't seen it yet myself. aside from that the intro music is ridiculously addictive, have to see can i buy it on cd.

Zen 2nd

Ah no worries there, I have plenty of time to think about it as I have got the Cowboy Bebop Collection: Box 1 + 2 and also Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Complete 1st GIG Box Set (7 Discs) for Christmas.

Placebo

Makaveli wrote:

Try FLCL, it's funny stuff and only six episodes long, seeing as nothing seems to hold your attention past the first episode or so it should suit.

good call, i like it, any other recommendations ? might try chobits again.

miss_cheif

Reference to my last post. Am very sorry for starting up an argument. Didn't know GitS inspired Akira as well, you learn something new everyday.

Have to add to my list Excel Saga series, very funny. Worth the buy if you find them.

Makaveli

Ghost in the Shell didn't inspire Akira.

miss_cheif

miss_cheif wrote:

...Didn't know GitS inspired Akira as well...

I didn't mean Akira, was thinking about it at the time (brilliant anime), I meant Matrix. This is just to clarify my mistake.

EOA_Mushy

Armitage Duel matrix - Well thats the name of the second one, cant remember the name of the first. "Armitage" is in the title. Or try any of the Trigun series.

NeoSlicerZ

Evangelion.
Macross Zero/Plus
Bleach
Full Metal Panic
GitS : SAC
Last Exile
Full Metal Alchemist

spring to mind..

maybe Shuffle/Initial D/Tsubasa Chronicle, and stay the hell away from Gundam SEED Destiny.

Art_Wolf

Havnt watched Shuffle.. Initial D I dont mind - though cult refuses to admit its anime and Tsubasa Chronicle I really do like

I've never been able to get into the Gundam stuff..

CuLT

Initial D is CG cars and some motionless paper cut-out characters ¬_¬
At best it pays lipservice to anime.

Shuffle is, apparently, a good harem anime, which is difficult to believe, but I have yet to see it myself. I tired of Tsubasa Chronicle very quickly, but that's only because I could see the whole plot unfolding into tedium. Each arc is "travel to different worlds, meet underdog character/zany alter-ego, Sakura does something cute, collect feather, say fond farewells after learning something obvious about people in general". Repeat.

Bleach is something else I tired of; there's only so many shounen powerup shows you can watch before you get sick of them.

Hmm, this seems to be just moaning so far so I'll add some positives

Eureka 7 and Noein are this years best shows imo;
Eureka 7 walks on thin ice seperating itself from Eva in certain places, but it doesn't focus on the religious mumbo-jumbo that other Eva-copycat shows have tried to do; Sousei no Aquarion, Rah-Xephon, Fafner in the Azure, to name a few.
It does, like Eva, give an organic nature to the mechs that are piloted and a recent episode (20) had some scenes which can only have been directly taken from Eva, eg:





Well worth watching in any case, likeably characters, good music, decent, meandering storyline.

Noein is unpredictable, sci-fi, interdimensional, time-travelling action. If that's not enough to get you interested, here's some random screenshots:

seraphimvc

Vile wrote:

I just finished watching AIR....and it was amazing. I definitely recommend it.

emm......i wonder r u watching AIR in english sub??....:D i watched it in chinese sub....

emm.......i m watching

Jigoku shoujo(Hell's Girl??!!:D )
Mushihi(Worm Master??!;) )
Shana(Burning eye's Shana:D )
Paradise kiss

at the moment.......they r still on air at japan.......^^

carbonkid

If your looking for something to really get hooked on my top 3 are full metal panic, naruto and bleach!

Mind you theres alot of titles mentioned i never heard of so could be better but id find it hard to believe theres anything much better than bleach at the moment, its a wicked series

jaqian

Haven't seen Howl's Moving Castle mention here, what's ppl's opinions on it? Hoping to get a chance to watch it tonight.

Lillium

well, if you don't mind tons of violence and some nudity,
Elfen Lied is the best ever anywhere,

If you don't mind violence,
Full metal alchemist,
Chrono crusade

if you don't mind slight nudity
Chobits

If you like to think,
Spiral

If you are more of a pg 13 kind of guy,
Azumanga Daioh,
Ah My Goddess

sharingan

CuLT wrote:

Initial D is CG cars and some motionless paper cut-out characters

At best it pays lipservice to anime.

Frankly I saw one ep of Initial D, sorry but that cack CG is just plain cheating. To add insult to injury they back that up with the ugliest 2D ever. They probably manage to add some one-more-episode buzz to keep the wannabe joyriders hooked, but this is awful stuff.

I flicked through the manga to see if the anime discredited it (say, not enough money involved). Nope. The anime is totally faithful to the manga, awful driving sequences & awful character art. Ragged linework to 'simulate' speed. Ugh. Read some Gunsmith Cats instead and watch a 'real' car chase. Dodge Viper vs Shelby. Enough said.

CuLT wrote:

Shuffle is, apparently, a good harem anime, which is difficult to believe, but I have yet to see it myself.

Every now and then one appears. Does it end at ep 26 (have it all if so)?

CuLT wrote:

I tired of Tsubasa Chronicle very quickly, but that's only because I could see the whole plot unfolding into tedium. Each arc is "travel to different worlds, meet underdog character/zany alter-ego, Sakura does something cute, collect feather, say fond farewells after learning something obvious about people in general". Repeat.

Its depressing, but the anime is superiour to the manga, particularly in areas where they do non-manga stuff. And they are pumping out the manga, at the expense of superiour work like xxxHolic. I could have liked both (TRC anime & manga) a lot more if they just stayed in the Hanshin republic - sure they would just regurgitate Magic Knights Rayearth all over again, but with Sakura & Shaoran, but it would have been fun. Resetting the whole plot every world jump doesn't allow any depth to develop. It feels very much like what fanfiction/doushinji aspires to, and is aiming very low for established creators. I liked the whole concept of Shaoran & Sakura as teenagers. If they stuck with just that I would have liked it a lot more.

Will still read on & finish out, but its annoying comparing xxxHolic & Tsubasa release schedules.

CuLT wrote:

Bleach is something else I tired of; there's only so many shounen powerup shows you can watch before you get sick of them.

I kinda slowed down on all those series when my preferred subbers took a break. I have it on good account that I am not missing much in recent Naruto, and Bleach I took a break at the first break until I have a 30 episode break or something.

I am keeping up with One Piece, which at least is always consistently good. I don't think it ever hits the heights of Naruto, but Naruto's heights have been few and far between lately, and One Piece has always maintained a good level of quality. The imagination in the series always keeps it fresh. The humour cracks me up sometimes, and while Zoro is probably the best character, Chopper is really cracking me up.

CuLT wrote:

Eureka 7 and Noein are this years best shows imo;
Noein is unpredictable, sci-fi, interdimensional, time-travelling action.

I put Eureka 7 on hold after a few episodes. It looked good, I just wanted to give time to Nanashi to get their ass in gear. I think for Noein I was waiting for a decent fansubber to make some headway.

Other than that, I haven't been watching much. Many of the series I was gettign into (Kamichu!, Animal Yokocho etc.) have stalled on the fansubber front. Other interesting series like Mushishi & Rozen Maiden: Traumend, I have been waiting for a good group to make some progress with (RM:T is this years bandwagon, at least some good groups like Ayu & Conclave have hopped on at the end).

It looks like Zipang is finally making some progress too. Good stuff.

I am also considering restarting Shakugan, ARIA & Mai Otome now that they have built up a good amount of headway. And I have yet to finish BECK (Shame! after getting all the [A-E] versions too)

Son Goku

I recommend Dragonball for its thought provoking dialogue and social discourse.
Example:

*Bach plays in background*
Goku: Vegeta, I can't help but notice how our firing of giant energy blasts at each other represents an ironic statement about masculine assertion.
Vegeta: I think the Irony is in the lack of an assertion, by making Kantian uncertainisms. Although I concur, or at least as close as possible two distinct entities can concur without full knowledge of a one-to-one mapping to the other's ego.