Over the past couple months I've started to really get into anime thanks to Hulu and Netflix watch instantly service. So far I've watched episodes of Naruto, Bleach, and one each for Darker than Black and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Now, I was just wondering if there were any anime's I should watch. This is actually the second time I've gotten into anime, the first time I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion, and a few episodes of Lupin the III.
I don't watch anime much but a friend of mine is a pretty big fan, so I've been exposed to a fair bit--I found Samurai Champloo and Full Metal Alchemist quite entertaining.
Well lets start with the stuff on DVD first lol Full Metal Panic-a mech/comedy series Full Metal Panic Fumoffu-a comedy series based off of the first season Full Metal panic The Second Raid-the third season, much more serious than the first 2 End of Evangelion-the actual ending to evangelion Evangelion 1.1 You Can [not]Advance-the re-imagining of eva. id add the second movie to this but its not out yet in america (or even fansubed in a decent version ) RahXephon-a show along the same lines of Evangelion. Some argue its better. i dont agree, but its a good show Elfen Lied-bloody anime with a chick with telekinetic powers The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya-a comedy/romance show with an interesting twist Kannon-romance/comedy Clannad-romance comedy Clannad After Story-romance comedy Ghost in the Shell 2.0-the movie SAC is based on, but remastered with some cgi tossed in Black Lagoon-the story of some modern day pirates Black Lagoon The Second Barrage-the action packed sequel to the above Full Metal Alchemist- a show about a couple of alchemists trying to reclaim their bodies Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (aka Higurashi-when they cry)-a mind fuck-need to watch to understand lol Mai-Hime (aka my-hime)-magical series Mai-Otome (aka my-otome)-a sort of remake/re-imagining of mai-hime If you're feeling more adventurous we can talk about the stuff you can download as well
It sort of depends on what you're looking for. But, I'll say that Aria and Planetes are the best SF series ever made. (Hyperbole ahoy!)
I like Aria simply because I've always wanted to see a SF series that doesn't involve any kind of conflict whatsoever. It doesn't hurt that it's also very good, as soft SF and as a shoujo slice of life series. I guess there's Caprica now, but I'm so uninterested in the Battlestar Galactica "lore" that I can't watch it.
I just recently discovered the BEST "anime" series ever but it is from America; Avatar the Last Airbender. I'm just starting the third season. It's wonderful! Great story, great characters, great action, great humor, moral ambiguity...
Here's a few recommendations: The Miyazaki films-Hayao Miyazaki is sort of the Japanese Walt Disney. His films have the best production values and probably the most crossover appeal. He did, in fact, do a Lupin movie, the Castle of Cagliostro, but is more famous for movies like Nausicca (Which inspired the Star trek alien name) Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away etc. Bubblegum Crisis-A very 80's Cyberpunk series with elements of Terminator, Blade Runner, power rangers, and Streets of Fire. Basically, a group of four female superheroes in powered armor take on a nasty corporation and their robots. Macross-AKA the first part of Robotech, this series is about a transforming spaceship with transforming jet fighters which is pursued by an alien race of giants across earth and space. Only the power of music can stop them. It might sound hokey, but it's actually pretty good, and spawned a lot of sequels, most notably Macross Plus. Gundam-One of the biggest anime franchises. Although it spans several different 'universes'/timelines, Gundam's basic story usually involves a war between earth and orbiting space colonies. The war is fought by mobile suits (Giant robots), with the Gundam-sometimes a prototype suit, or a super robot-often at the front line of the war. Although hardly realistic and stuck on some licensing conventions, Gundam was one of the first mecha series to treat it's subject matter more seriously, and paved the way for later series such as Evangelion. The current Gundam series is Gundam 00, although there is an upcoming video series called Gundam Unicorn.
Not really -- Nausicaa is a name from Greek mythology and means "burner of ships", hence "Nausicaan pirates". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausicaa
JD, you should specify what kinds of stuff you're into. I could give a 100 different suggestions for a 100 different genres.
It's also one of the more relaxing series out there. One of these days I need to finish the final season
I can recommend plenty just don't be one of those anime fans that judges stuff based on looks and style alone remember there are a lot of franchises like Gundam or Macross (not Robotech) that are 20-30 years old and still churning out sequels there is definitely something to be said for that. For the mecha genre the biggies are Macross start with the Super Dimension Fortress Macross NOT Robotech the two have nothing to do with each other, other than the fact that the two shows share the same footage. For Gundam there typically is the Universal Century timeline and a bunch of alternate universes some are connected and some aren't you can start with the original movie trilogy just keep in mind it's almost as old as the original Star Wars then move on to the flashier stuff like 00 or Unicorn once you have an appreciation for how the genre got started.
For starters like Clint g suggests, I'll suggest things that are probably available on DVD, TV, or streaming here in the US: Monster (This airs Monday Nights os Sy-Fy) Planetes Haibane Renmei Rumbling Hearts When They Cry Infinite Ryvius Welcome to the NHK Ergo Proxy Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad Kanon (2006) Blue Gender Gunslinger Girl Kurokami Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit Cowboy Bebop Vision of Escaflowne RahXephon Code Geass Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (This starts airing in a few weeks on Cartoon Network's Saturday AS block) In addition, that's also a fairly well rounded list of stuff for you to check out as far as genres go and some of my personal favorites.
Beck Welcome to the NHK The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Claymore FLCL Ah My Goddess The Girl Who Leapt Through Time The Wings of Honneamise Trigun Tenchi Muyo Kino's Journey Haibane Renmei Berserk Paranoia Agent Tokyo Godfathers Perfect Blue Paprika Millennium Actress Ergo Proxy Azumanga Daioh Last Exile Le Chevalier D'Eon Mushi-shi Noein R.O.D The TV Samurai 7 Shingu Texhnolyze Serial Experiments Lain Witch Hunter Robin Witchblade xxxHolic Wolf's Rain Ouran High School Host Club Gankutsuou Gunslinger Girl Please Teacher NieA Under 7 Baccano! Orguss 02 Cyber City Oedo 808 You're Under Arrest OVAs Akira X: The TV Series Hellsing Ultimate and many of those already mentioned are among some of my favourite things.
If you know where to find them, I'd also recommend some unlicensed stuff such as: Eden of the East (Technically licensed but not available yet.) Kara no Kyoukai Kurenai REC Rideback Real Drive Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Kemonozume Ryoko's Case Files (Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo) Denno Coil (Can't find a decent trailer or opening for this one at all. )
Of course, you need to watch the television series Neon Genesis Evangelion first. The compilation movie, Death & Rebirth (or whatever they're calling it with all the re-edits and releases), doesn't cut it. Saying it's an "actual" ending is misleading, they're complementary. Personally, if I had to choose between the last two episodes of the series or End of Evangelion... I'd go with the the last two episodes every time. They work best in conjunction with each other though. Some people go so far as to watch the last two episodes smack in the middle of the movie, but I think doing them separately, one after another is better. I usually finish the show first and then move on to the movie. I'm still not ready to start recommending the new Rebuild movies, I need to see how they end it. It'll be interesting to see how they all turn out and if this whole thing was worthwhile.