Any anime fans?

[Wheo]

Sorry, but I had to ask. It's rare to find someone who loves (not likes, but loves) both Star Trek (any of them, really) and Anime.

 

[Kelthaz]

I'm a big fan of both anime and Star Trek. I'm halfway through One Piece right now and after I catch up to the new episodes I plan to check out Macross. I could never get into Naruto though.

 

[Space Cowboy]

I liked Cowboy Bebop and Gundam Wing. The newest thing I've seen and liked is GITS:SAC. I'm not to fond of the mystical power type anime series.

 

[TrekNut87]

I'm a huge fan of Star Trek and anime. I'm currently watching Death Note and a few others. I just recently finished re-watching Trigun and Ghost in the Shell.

 

[zakkrusz]

I'm a huge fan of both myself.

I've been into anime for about 12 years now and currently have seen a little over 500 various series and films. I'm currently working on a number of titles, about 15 I think. (Aquarion, Bamboo Blade, Bleach, Code Geass: R2, D.Gray-Man, Death Note, Devil May Cry, Library War, Macross Frontier, My Otome, Naruto Shippuden, Soul Eater, Tekkaman Blade, Vampire Knight, xXxHolic)

I like a large variety of stuff and watch anything from soapy romance drama anime to ultraviolent horror as long as the story is good. You can check out my list if you want but be warned that the comments I wrote about them are offen spoilerific.

 

[SlaveOfSeven]

I've been watching anime for a couple of years now; was even part of the blogging community briefly. Not sure I love it in quite the way you meant as I don't take it seriously at all; still, I'm watching about a dozen series right now so I think it would be fair to say I love it as much as Trek but in a different way.

 

[Emher]

Big anime fan here! Would take way to long to list what I like though so I'll go with what I'm watching in fansubs at the moment:

Soul Eater
Macross Frontier

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Was a massive fan of Trek, now really only appreciate the first three series and the TOS movies... But I'm still a massive anime fan.

I'm currently watching Blassreiter, Welcome To The NHK, Chobits, Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note, Shingu, Hennako-Chan, just finished watching Druaga...

that's my review site down there

 

[Wheo]

This is amazing...so many Otaku Trekkies...

My favourite series right now is Death Note (sociopathy and meglomania are just, well, fascinating! ^_^, followed by The Prince of Tennis (I have no idea why, though) and Gensoumaden Saiyuuki (corrupt monks, voyeuristic deities, and Son Goku FTW). There are tons of series I like, however. Here's a list of the ones I can think of off the top of my head (this list does now include manga series I like, because if I did, it'd be pretty epic).

~Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu
~Naruto
~Hagane no Renkinjutsushi
~Yuugiou
~Yuu Yuu Hakusho
~Gokudo-kun Mannyuuki
~DragonBall Z
~Yakitate! Japan
~Sukisho
~Gravitation
~Kyou Kara Maou
~Hikaru no Go
~Princess Princess
~Ouran High School Host Club
~Weiss Kreuz
~Loveless

There's a lot more, of course (especially if we're counting Manga series, as well), but that's what I'm putting for now. Yay, anime! ^_^

 

[thestrangequark]

I'm a fan as well! Totoro got me started young, and I loved Ranma as a kid (which just gets better as one ages and becomes more aware of the subtexts and more subtle aspects of Takahashi's humor). I love Rumiko Takahashi, though generally I prefer the manga to the anime, which is the case with Ranma. Maison Ikkoku is one of my favorite stories of all time.

I also love, Cowboy Bebop (but who doesn't), FLCL (brilliant music among its virtues), and GTO, among others.

 

[Wheo]

Ah, yes, I first read Ranma when I was too young to understand a lot of the more "mature" humour, but a few years back, I reread the entire series, and it was even funnier than I remembered it being. XD

GTO=win Onizuka is hilarious...

 

[Lookingglassman]

I love Star Blazers and Robotech.

 

[zakkrusz]

My personal top 20 would consist of:

1. Monster
2. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex/ GITS: SAC: 2nd Gig
3. Planetes
4. Haibane Renmei
5. Elfen Lied
6. Black Lagoon/ Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage
7. Rumbling Hearts
8. When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koroni)/ Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai
9. Kanon (2006)
10. Ergo Proxy
11. Kure-nai
12. Infinite Ryvius
13. Noir
14. School Days
15. Gunslinger Girl/ Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino
16. Cowboy Bebop
17. Blue Gender
18. Vision of Escaflowne
19. Scrapped Princess
20. Kurau: Phantom Memory

 

[Seven of eleven]

Can someone explain anime to me? I thought it was just a type of japanese animation. I don't get why a differently drawn cartoon would get the devotion that I see so is there more to anime than just the style of the drawn images?

 

[melancholymecha]

^ Ill let someone else more expert explain in more detail, but basically the storytelling & themes are much more varied(& sometimes ballsy) than in western animation. Western animation is basically(stubbornly) 2 things- comedy or family films. Anime can be about anything. Artistically some of the design work can be just beautiful.


You'll find a lot of anime fans here.

Im not an otaku/expert(no time or money), I mostly watch what gets shown on Adult Swim, but Ive seen quite a lot from just that venue, ever since Cowboy Bebop caught my eye way back in early 2000's.

my all time fave is Trigun, & Im currently watching Bleach(meh), Death Note(good if frustrating) & Code Geass(interesting so far)...

 

[zakkrusz]

Can someone explain anime to me? I thought it was just a type of japanese animation. I don't get why a differently drawn cartoon would get the devotion that I see so is there more to anime than just the style of the drawn images?

Anime is definied as:
a)Animated programing created and animated by the Japanese (the conventional definition)
or
b) Animation in general (the Japanese definition and the origin of the term.)

As for why it's popular well I can't speak for everyone but I have several reasons. The main I believe being the the variety. The animation industry in Japan is more of medium unto itself like the television industry is here whereas US animated programming usually falls into about 5 or 6 genres only. Conversely, with anime, there's science fiction, fantasy, action, comedy, horror, mystery, psychological thrillers, sports, drama, philosophical and slice of life pieces, romance, adventure, documentaries, adult entertainment, children's educational programming, etc. any genre you can think of. They also cater their programming to a wider field of age groups.

Next is the storylines. I find it really interesting how much a different culture can contribute into making programming that's fresh and different from standard hollywood conventions and stereotypes. Of course they have their own conventions and stereotypes but it puts an interesting twist on things.

Finally, and this relates to the first point, is that anime touches on things Hollywood would not touch with a ten foot pole. For instance shows like Koi Kaze, a serious romantic drama about two seperated siblings who fall in love only to learn the truth and spend the series trying to discard their screwed up feelings. Or Gunslinger Girl which follows an Itallian agency that takes terminally ill/injured girls and turns them into cyborg assassins to do the government's dirty work. There's also nothing quite like the wierd philosophical and psychological mindtrips like Boogiepop Phantom, Paranoia Agent, Perfect Blue, Paprika, Haibane Renmei, Serial Experiments Lain, and Texhnolyze.

 

[Wheo]

Zakkrusz - Absolutely brilliant explaination; I couldn't have done it better myself. I was all geared up to respond back and explain how Anime, rather than being simply another genre, is a whole medium unto itself, but then you said it for (better, perhaps, than I ever could have done myself). I just had to comment on it- brilliant.

 

[Lord Garth]

Indeed I am. Most notably:

Armitage III
Chobits
Death Note
Dragonball/Dragonball Z
Ergo Proxy
Hellsing
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yu Yu Hakusho

As far as my Trek preferences: TOS, TOS movies, and DS9.

 

[zakkrusz]

Zakkrusz - Absolutely brilliant explaination; I couldn't have done it better myself. I was all geared up to respond back and explain how Anime, rather than being simply another genre, is a whole medium unto itself, but then you said it for (better, perhaps, than I ever could have done myself). I just had to comment on it- brilliant.

Thanks, I could also go on about:

The art quality being superior (lots of great visuals with artful backgrounds, and the newer or higher budget ones even do some awesome things with "camera" angles durring action scenes. See any of the latest works by Madhouse, Kyoto Animation, or Studio Bones for examples. However, sometimes the animation itself offen has more shortcuts when produced from a TV budget, which is understandable considering the volume of series produced there and the fact some studios offen work on multiple projects at once. Gonzo has two or three out right now I think.)

The great music which uses a combination of composed music of various varieties to fit the show/movie and actual songs from popular Japanese artists for the openings, endings, and insert songs. (EX) I find that it's usually not as generic as some of the BGM used in US animated stuff. In fact it's actually inspired me to pick up a whole horde of the soundtracks (I think I have over 100).

...but those are more open to debate.

 

[BigFoot]

I like anime (Appleseed, GITS), but I'm not crazy about it.