Anyone a suggestion for an anime I should watch? I finished watching Darker Than Black and it was brilliant. I wanna start watching something else, but I don't know which ones I should watch.
I'm not sure what you've seen already, but some things I've liked in recent seasons are Hakuouki (which features hot zombie-vampire Shinsengumi, and a sometimes helpless self-insert chick from the dating sim, but mostly hot zombie-vampire Shinsengumi -- and if you like history, a lot more references to important events than usually make it into adaptations. If you have any questions about history, on the other hand, I'm happy to fill in any details. Before I showed this to my anime club, I actually subjected them to a plushie re-enactment of the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate because there's a lot that it assumes you already know. That said, it's mostly running on its own merits, not on accurate history.), Star Driver (which is kind of silly, but also kind of fabulous -- not your average mecha show with a circus-bondage council of bad guys, and I'm not sure words will suffice to describe it), and Bakuman (which is about two mangaka, and better than such stories usually are. I recommend less highly than the other two, but the insights into the manga publishing industry have been pretty interesting).
If you want recommendations for older series, I've got bunches (consequences of running weekly anime clubs for the last... wow. Six or seven years. I feel old.), but I'll have to ask what you've already seen and liked so I don't double up or go way off base.
I started to watch Baccano, but it's only 13 episodes. I wonder if it will be fun. The guys of Hakuoki look very good and zombie-vampires are something terribly interesting. But I don't know anything about Japanese history (or any other history for that matter). I might try it out and see if I can handle it. Star Driver looks good, but there are lots of woman. They're not spoiling the story? I keep all three in mind and I will try them out for sure.
Hard to make a list of what I've seen. So many things. Well, I love stories with a guy as the main character. A good looking one if possible. I like action, I don't mind blood and killing at all. Detectives are fine too. Fantasy is great. Not too many girls, although I liked Rozen Maiden. No mary-sue's. I like some humor in the stories, but if it's completely serious, I'm fine with it too.
My faves: Code Geass, Ouran HSHC, Tsubasa Chronicle, Kuroshitsuji, Claymore, Kyou Kara Maou, Hetalia. That might show what kind of things I like XD
I have a friend who was really fond of Baccano, and he also liked Du-ra-ra-ra... I haven't seen enough of either of them to make a statement, but if you like the one, you might try the other.
I hope you like Hakuouki. I've been crazy over it since I saw the first five minutes, but then again I'm a Shinsengumi fangirl (which is the fault of Rurouni Kenshin and Peace Maker Kurogane -- Kenshin is a classic, although you should skip the filler episodes, and Peace Maker is a good anime if you wouldn't mind the blood and the killing [and it's the one that made me ship Hijikata with Okita, which even the Japanese voice actors said was canon].)
As for the girls in Star Driver... I suppose there are quite a few, but they don't come across as mary-sue's to me. Even the main, special priestess girl who's engaged to the blue-haired boy and sort of attracted to the red-haired boy... (actually, she would rather they end up together!) but I found that everyone's too busy posing and enacting comical Evil Schemes to be annoying.
It's too bad there haven't been anime that I thought were really *well done* for X or Tokyo Babylon... I love those series, and I really think you'd like the manga. But as much as I enjoyed the X movie, it wasn't the same story at all and the TV series was a kind of boring adaptation that took out half of my favorite parts... But if you like Tsubasa, you'd probably like a couple of the older works by CLAMP. Maybe the RG Veda OVAs, even if it's just an adaptation of the fourth manga volume (out of ten), Magic Knight Rayearth, or Card Captor Sakura (fair warning, it's fluffier than the Sakura and Syaoran in Tsubasa, but if you haven't seen it, I think it's worth a shot -- and when CLAMP focuses on a female lead, they tend to make her interesting while keeping up a strong supporting cast with a variety of interesting boys. CCS is better than Rayeath in this respect, I think, since Rayearth is more about the setting and CCS is more about the characters... but they're both better than a lot of things. It's why I like CLAMP so much. Most authors can't do both sexes equally.)
Gankutsuou is a space-vampire-on-Mars retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas that was really well done, and I think I mentioned Ghost Hunt to you a while back... if you haven't had a chance to watch it, you might find it interesting. For just fun with a magical art thief and the detective who love him, DN Angel is a great way to spend 26 episodes. Plus, the hot guy with purple hair has Tezuka's voice actor, and he has this image single, Kodou, that I want to turn into an AMV for a TeFu doujinshi... but I digress ::sweatdrop::
For some reason, I have it in my head that you must have seen D.Gray-man, but if you haven't, you may want to. Because every angst-ridden elite force with magical demon-killing weapons needs stylish black coats and an adorably sociopathic main character with a cursed eye...
FullMetal Alchemist has quickly become a modern classic, so you may have already seen it... I'm one of the few who prefers the 2003 anime that is almost completely divergent from the manga, but I know FMA: Brotherhood (which follows the manga) has a lot of fans. Which is not to say the manga storyline was bad! I had fun reading it, and the author did a great job. It's just that the couple things in the manga that got on my nerves a little were completely different in the first anime. I'm backwards from a lot of people on that.
My list of things Everyone Should See No Matter What definitely includes Irresponsible Captain Tylor, which is an older artstyle, but I think holds up. Also, even though this one has a female lead, I recommend Twelve Kingdoms. It's an excellent fantasy series with a well-crafted story and an interesting cast. The main character can be a little whiny in the first few episodes, but she stops being annoying pretty soon in, and in later parts she's a total badass. If you like this one, there were a couple other well-written shows with strong female heroines that I'm not recommending outright (they're a lot more shoujo than Twelve Kingdoms), but I can give you titles should you want them.
Of course, I have a soft spot for Shounen Onmyouji, but I'd want to finish subtitling all the episodes and give you my own version before I recommend it! ::laugh::
Omg, that is enough! I would never be able to remember all of those! And how to chose from all of those!! XD I've seen Durarara and DNAngel. Loved them both.
I LOVE CLAMP! They're aweseome, but I haven't really seen the older work. I've seen X the movie. I have it here on my shelf XD Somehow I never really wanted to watch Card Captor Sakura, because of the....fluffiness. But I might give it a try someday. Reminds me I should try watching xxxHolic again.
Thank you for your many suggestions, I'll see which one I like most and try those. Btw, FullMetal Alchemist, what order to watch those? There are so many series!
The thing about the FMA series is that they're basically AU to each other. Comparing the two is like the proverbial "comparing apples to oranges" conversation. I just happen to like oranges better (the first series), even though most people prefer the apples (the second series, Brotherhood).
The manga came first, and in 2003 (before some really big parts of the plot were established), the anime studios made "FullMetal Alchemist" using the characters and setting, but remixing the established plot elements and going in a completely different direction with them. I've seen a lot of anime where the ending diverges from the manga, or they made different choices here and there for time or ratings or what have you, but I've never seen anything that's so much like... well, it's hard to describe. It's kind of like they took a really cool cape, cut it apart, changed it up, and resewed it into an awesome skirt. On a technical storytelling level alone, that blows me away. But most importantly, what they've got is coherent and badass.
The first few episodes of the 2003 anime contain a lot of the same things as the manga but if you look closely, the anime has done all kinds of things with changing where the characters are in the timeline, who was involved, and where they ended up. It's better considered as a separate universe. This is followed up with the movie "The Conqueror of Shambala", which I can't tell you anything about because it'll totally spoil the end of the first series.
FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was the second anime for FMA, and it's a direct retelling of the manga. Like I said, a lot of people like one this better. It's definitely an entertaining story, and I think some people feel it... ah. Well... for lack of anything better coming to mind, I think they think it "has more balls", and it certainly has no consistency issues (which are a huge risk with something remixy like the first series, but I think the first anime did a better job of being consistent than some things that are written straight out). I'd have to debate which series is more hard-hitting, because I think the 2003 series posed moral dilemmas that I found more hard-core, but the manga/2009 portrayal is more head-on. That's a matter of opinion.
In the end, the manga and Brotherhood also have this one thing that bothers the heck out of me: the espionage. I'm a codes and cryptography geek, and while I love steganography techniques like the mangaka prefers, some of the ones that form key points of the manga plot just make me want to beat my head against the wall yelling, "NO~oo! It doesn't work like that!" Most people are probably better able to overlook that element, but it drives me absolutely crazy. Not a problem in the 2003 series, where those moments never happened. So, for that and a variety of other reasons, I like the first one better.
The movie that was just released, "The Sacred Star of Milos", follows the manga/Brotherhood timeline. I've also heard something about FullMetal Alchemist: Kai which I think is related to Brotherhood, but I haven't actually looked for any solid information on it. The last release I know about are some side-story OVAs called "The Premium Collection", which can probably be watched whenever. They were made with the first anime, but they're not really tied to either plot.
Wow, you can tell so much about FMA. I've read most of the manga, since my friend has almost the complete series, so I know what it is about. I guess if the first anime doesn't have annoying fillers or anything I just start with that and see what I think of it. If I feel like it I watch OVA's or Brotherhood after it, but I'll see what I think of the first one first XD
Blue Exorcist, Saint Seiya- Lost Canvas, Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi - World's Greatest First Love, Gosick, No. 6 seem interesting but not gone past first episode.
I didn't like Ao no Exorcist and I've seen Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi. What are the others about?
Uta no Prince-sama looks like a harem anime to me. I'm not really into those. Nice to pair up the pretty bishounen, but I rather see them do that in the anime as well then XD
Gosick is a mystery, thriller but not scary - japanese exchange student meets mysterious girl who stays in school library and the sister of the town inspector. She pretty much solves the mysteries and the inspector gets the credit something like that. sort of sherlock holmes like where the girl is the mystery solver and the japanese boy sort of ends up tagging along...sort of interesting but kind of lost interest towards episode 14 since I am not really into mystery thrillers.
Saint Seiya- Lost Canvas is typical anime fight of the gods thing ... same plot different characters of sort of reincarnation of ... typical fight between good and bad - i just like watching due to nice animation effects.
Nothing match holding my interest - i do like harem episodes...i went crazy with Saiunkoku Monogatari watched Season 1 and 2 and hoping for a third.
Going to second Fullmetal Alchemist. One of the most bad-ass anime I've ever watched. I liked the first series too but then I haven't watched the second series yet XDDD. Also you might like Tiger and Bunny. And I'm just about to watch Ano Hana but from what I've heard from everyone, it's a really good anime :3.
And I saw someone recommend Shinsengumi animes, so I'll recommend Gintama, which is a super hilarious gag take on samurai and the Shinsengumi. Though I say watch the more serious Shinsengumi anime first because you won't be able to see the Shinsengumi the same way ever again after watching Gintama XDDD. (It's long though, around 200 episodes :3)
Copying the description from animetake because I'm too lazy to think of one haha XD. "Sternbild City is home to people called “Next,” who use their special abilities to protect the people as superheroes. These heroes solve cases and save lives so they can wear sponsor logos or acquire “hero points.” Their activities are documented on the popular program “Hero TV,” which picks the “King of Heroes” in a yearly ranking. The veteran hero Wild Tiger has always preferred to work alone, but now he’s been assigned the rookie Barnaby Brooks Jr., who has a different perspective on being a superhero. "
Though last time I watched, it's gotten really complicated and there are a lot of twists and conspiracy issues and all. Just check it out ;D.
And yes, Gintama is long XD. I haven't even caught up with it fully |DDD. Also, I have to warn you, the first 10 episodes are kinda slow but they get funnier as it goes along, I promise ;D.
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(no subject)
10/8/11 13:23 (UTC)(no subject)
10/8/11 13:33 (UTC)(no subject)
10/8/11 13:36 (UTC)(no subject)
10/8/11 13:42 (UTC)(no subject)
10/8/11 13:27 (UTC)If you want recommendations for older series, I've got bunches (consequences of running weekly anime clubs for the last... wow. Six or seven years. I feel old.), but I'll have to ask what you've already seen and liked so I don't double up or go way off base.
I hope you find something fun!
(no subject)
10/8/11 13:41 (UTC)The guys of Hakuoki look very good and zombie-vampires are something terribly interesting. But I don't know anything about Japanese history (or any other history for that matter). I might try it out and see if I can handle it.
Star Driver looks good, but there are lots of woman. They're not spoiling the story?
I keep all three in mind and I will try them out for sure.
Hard to make a list of what I've seen. So many things.
Well, I love stories with a guy as the main character. A good looking one if possible. I like action, I don't mind blood and killing at all. Detectives are fine too. Fantasy is great. Not too many girls, although I liked Rozen Maiden. No mary-sue's. I like some humor in the stories, but if it's completely serious, I'm fine with it too.
My faves: Code Geass, Ouran HSHC, Tsubasa Chronicle, Kuroshitsuji, Claymore, Kyou Kara Maou, Hetalia.
That might show what kind of things I like XD
(no subject)
10/8/11 15:05 (UTC)I hope you like Hakuouki. I've been crazy over it since I saw the first five minutes, but then again I'm a Shinsengumi fangirl (which is the fault of Rurouni Kenshin and Peace Maker Kurogane -- Kenshin is a classic, although you should skip the filler episodes, and Peace Maker is a good anime if you wouldn't mind the blood and the killing [and it's the one that made me ship Hijikata with Okita, which even the Japanese voice actors said was canon].)
As for the girls in Star Driver... I suppose there are quite a few, but they don't come across as mary-sue's to me. Even the main, special priestess girl who's engaged to the blue-haired boy and sort of attracted to the red-haired boy... (actually, she would rather they end up together!) but I found that everyone's too busy posing and enacting comical Evil Schemes to be annoying.
It's too bad there haven't been anime that I thought were really *well done* for X or Tokyo Babylon... I love those series, and I really think you'd like the manga. But as much as I enjoyed the X movie, it wasn't the same story at all and the TV series was a kind of boring adaptation that took out half of my favorite parts... But if you like Tsubasa, you'd probably like a couple of the older works by CLAMP. Maybe the RG Veda OVAs, even if it's just an adaptation of the fourth manga volume (out of ten), Magic Knight Rayearth, or Card Captor Sakura (fair warning, it's fluffier than the Sakura and Syaoran in Tsubasa, but if you haven't seen it, I think it's worth a shot -- and when CLAMP focuses on a female lead, they tend to make her interesting while keeping up a strong supporting cast with a variety of interesting boys. CCS is better than Rayeath in this respect, I think, since Rayearth is more about the setting and CCS is more about the characters... but they're both better than a lot of things. It's why I like CLAMP so much. Most authors can't do both sexes equally.)
Gankutsuou is a space-vampire-on-Mars retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas that was really well done, and I think I mentioned Ghost Hunt to you a while back... if you haven't had a chance to watch it, you might find it interesting. For just fun with a magical art thief and the detective who love him, DN Angel is a great way to spend 26 episodes. Plus, the hot guy with purple hair has Tezuka's voice actor, and he has this image single, Kodou, that I want to turn into an AMV for a TeFu doujinshi... but I digress ::sweatdrop::
For some reason, I have it in my head that you must have seen D.Gray-man, but if you haven't, you may want to. Because every angst-ridden elite force with magical demon-killing weapons needs stylish black coats and an adorably sociopathic main character with a cursed eye...
(to be continued)
(no subject)
10/8/11 15:05 (UTC)FullMetal Alchemist has quickly become a modern classic, so you may have already seen it... I'm one of the few who prefers the 2003 anime that is almost completely divergent from the manga, but I know FMA: Brotherhood (which follows the manga) has a lot of fans. Which is not to say the manga storyline was bad! I had fun reading it, and the author did a great job. It's just that the couple things in the manga that got on my nerves a little were completely different in the first anime. I'm backwards from a lot of people on that.
My list of things Everyone Should See No Matter What definitely includes Irresponsible Captain Tylor, which is an older artstyle, but I think holds up. Also, even though this one has a female lead, I recommend Twelve Kingdoms. It's an excellent fantasy series with a well-crafted story and an interesting cast. The main character can be a little whiny in the first few episodes, but she stops being annoying pretty soon in, and in later parts she's a total badass. If you like this one, there were a couple other well-written shows with strong female heroines that I'm not recommending outright (they're a lot more shoujo than Twelve Kingdoms), but I can give you titles should you want them.
Of course, I have a soft spot for Shounen Onmyouji, but I'd want to finish subtitling all the episodes and give you my own version before I recommend it! ::laugh::
(no subject)
10/8/11 15:34 (UTC)I LOVE CLAMP! They're aweseome, but I haven't really seen the older work. I've seen X the movie. I have it here on my shelf XD Somehow I never really wanted to watch Card Captor Sakura, because of the....fluffiness. But I might give it a try someday. Reminds me I should try watching xxxHolic again.
Thank you for your many suggestions, I'll see which one I like most and try those.
Btw, FullMetal Alchemist, what order to watch those? There are so many series!
(no subject)
10/8/11 16:27 (UTC)The manga came first, and in 2003 (before some really big parts of the plot were established), the anime studios made "FullMetal Alchemist" using the characters and setting, but remixing the established plot elements and going in a completely different direction with them. I've seen a lot of anime where the ending diverges from the manga, or they made different choices here and there for time or ratings or what have you, but I've never seen anything that's so much like... well, it's hard to describe. It's kind of like they took a really cool cape, cut it apart, changed it up, and resewed it into an awesome skirt. On a technical storytelling level alone, that blows me away. But most importantly, what they've got is coherent and badass.
The first few episodes of the 2003 anime contain a lot of the same things as the manga but if you look closely, the anime has done all kinds of things with changing where the characters are in the timeline, who was involved, and where they ended up. It's better considered as a separate universe. This is followed up with the movie "The Conqueror of Shambala", which I can't tell you anything about because it'll totally spoil the end of the first series.
FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was the second anime for FMA, and it's a direct retelling of the manga. Like I said, a lot of people like one this better. It's definitely an entertaining story, and I think some people feel it... ah. Well... for lack of anything better coming to mind, I think they think it "has more balls", and it certainly has no consistency issues (which are a huge risk with something remixy like the first series, but I think the first anime did a better job of being consistent than some things that are written straight out). I'd have to debate which series is more hard-hitting, because I think the 2003 series posed moral dilemmas that I found more hard-core, but the manga/2009 portrayal is more head-on. That's a matter of opinion.
In the end, the manga and Brotherhood also have this one thing that bothers the heck out of me: the espionage. I'm a codes and cryptography geek, and while I love steganography techniques like the mangaka prefers, some of the ones that form key points of the manga plot just make me want to beat my head against the wall yelling, "NO~oo! It doesn't work like that!" Most people are probably better able to overlook that element, but it drives me absolutely crazy. Not a problem in the 2003 series, where those moments never happened. So, for that and a variety of other reasons, I like the first one better.
The movie that was just released, "The Sacred Star of Milos", follows the manga/Brotherhood timeline. I've also heard something about FullMetal Alchemist: Kai which I think is related to Brotherhood, but I haven't actually looked for any solid information on it. The last release I know about are some side-story OVAs called "The Premium Collection", which can probably be watched whenever. They were made with the first anime, but they're not really tied to either plot.
(no subject)
10/8/11 18:29 (UTC)Thank you so much!
(no subject)
10/8/11 17:22 (UTC)Uta no Prince-sama - Maji Love 1000% started watching last night.I like it so far well the first episode that is.
http://www.gogoanime.com/category/uta-no-prince-sama-maji-love-1000
go to gogoanime.com and you will see the anime movies as well as series.
(no subject)
10/8/11 18:23 (UTC)What are the others about?
Uta no Prince-sama looks like a harem anime to me. I'm not really into those. Nice to pair up the pretty bishounen, but I rather see them do that in the anime as well then XD
(no subject)
11/8/11 07:02 (UTC)Saint Seiya- Lost Canvas is typical anime fight of the gods thing ... same plot different characters of sort of reincarnation of ... typical fight between good and bad - i just like watching due to nice animation effects.
Nothing match holding my interest - i do like harem episodes...i went crazy with Saiunkoku Monogatari watched Season 1 and 2 and hoping for a third.
(no subject)
11/8/11 08:02 (UTC)Hmm, not sure if I should watch it. I like a good story too. Depends on how long it is.
Haha, everybody a different taste XD Haven't seen Saunkoku Monogatari. I never watch shoujo and most harem anime are shoujo XD;;
(no subject)
14/8/11 14:55 (UTC)(no subject)
10/8/11 19:21 (UTC)(no subject)
10/8/11 19:24 (UTC)(no subject)
10/8/11 19:35 (UTC)wish there'd be second season so we could see awesome Boss!Kado XD and cute!Aoba ;p
(no subject)
11/8/11 07:58 (UTC)(no subject)
12/8/11 12:44 (UTC)(no subject)
12/8/11 12:54 (UTC)(no subject)
13/8/11 15:14 (UTC)You like violence? then maybe you will like MikadoxAoba pairing, lol S&M XD
(no subject)
13/8/11 15:19 (UTC)I like violence when there are good looking guys involved XD I think Shizuo is the hottest guy in the series.
(no subject)
13/8/11 17:51 (UTC)Oh yeah, I recommend "[C] The Money and Soul Possibility Control", and "steins gate" looks good =)
(no subject)
13/8/11 18:30 (UTC)(no subject)
13/8/11 18:55 (UTC)I don't really know about Steins Gate, I think it's fantasy.
If violence... (I guess something like durarara and death note huh?) I have no idea (. .) sorry
though looks like Deadman is kinda good, haven't tried to watch it.
Physic detective yakumo?
(no subject)
13/8/11 19:12 (UTC)You haven't seen Stein's gate? Fantasy must be good though. Thanks for telling me!
(no subject)
11/8/11 05:56 (UTC)And I saw someone recommend Shinsengumi animes, so I'll recommend Gintama, which is a super hilarious gag take on samurai and the Shinsengumi. Though I say watch the more serious Shinsengumi anime first because you won't be able to see the Shinsengumi the same way ever again after watching Gintama XDDD. (It's long though, around 200 episodes :3)
(no subject)
11/8/11 08:00 (UTC)What is Tiger and Bunny about?
Wow, Gintama is really long! O_o I'll leave that for the days I will have more time XD But it sounds fun!
(no subject)
12/8/11 06:48 (UTC)"Sternbild City is home to people called “Next,” who use their special abilities to protect the people as superheroes. These heroes solve cases and save lives so they can wear sponsor logos or acquire “hero points.” Their activities are documented on the popular program “Hero TV,” which picks the “King of Heroes” in a yearly ranking. The veteran hero Wild Tiger has always preferred to work alone, but now he’s been assigned the rookie Barnaby Brooks Jr., who has a different perspective on being a superhero. "
Though last time I watched, it's gotten really complicated and there are a lot of twists and conspiracy issues and all. Just check it out ;D.
And yes, Gintama is long XD. I haven't even caught up with it fully |DDD. Also, I have to warn you, the first 10 episodes are kinda slow but they get funnier as it goes along, I promise ;D.
(no subject)
12/8/11 08:29 (UTC)Oh, that is too bad, they should have given it an awesome start, but if I try it out, I'll think about that while watching the first 10 episodes