The Anime and Manga Thread
Since we've gotten to derailing the Post A Pic thread, best to start a new one.
Anyway, use this space to talk about your favorite anime and manga, your collections, recommendations, etc.
My top 5 Amine? (in no particular order)
Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Mushishi, Kino's Journey and Durarara.
Manga?
Detective Conan, Mushishi, Fullmetal Alchemist, xxxHolic, and +Anima (so sue me, it's my guilty pleasure)
I'm watching Mononoke and Bartender right now, I don't really have that large of a choice other than what DVDs I managed to bring with me. American streaming sites don't work here and our dorm's single tv set is currently on the fritz.
Anyway, use this space to talk about your favorite anime and manga, your collections, recommendations, etc.
My top 5 Amine? (in no particular order)
Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Mushishi, Kino's Journey and Durarara.
Manga?
Detective Conan, Mushishi, Fullmetal Alchemist, xxxHolic, and +Anima (so sue me, it's my guilty pleasure)
I'm watching Mononoke and Bartender right now, I don't really have that large of a choice other than what DVDs I managed to bring with me. American streaming sites don't work here and our dorm's single tv set is currently on the fritz.
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Comments
YuGiOh, DBZ, Legendz (The manga was pretty cool), FMA/Brotherhood (Didn't like the first Anime series) Death Note (Anime, Manga went to slow)
Man, It's been a while since I've watched any anime.
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I actually like Naruto.
lol....
Well...there is a case in which you won't look silly. If you say you like the manga. ^^
My top anime. Only no.1 is set and the rest have no particular order.
Cowboy Bebop, Last Exile, Samurai Champloo, Now and Then Here and There, Hikaru no Go, Tengen Toppa Guren Lagann, NGE, Card Captor Sakura(go ahead laugh), Hajime no Ippo
My top manga in order:
Berserk, Detective Conan, Hajime no Ippo, FMA, Spiral, Buddha, Akira
My Favorite Anime Series Currently-
Fullmetal Alchemist
Eureka Seven
Cowboy Bebop
Samurai Champloo
Paranoia Agent
Big O
Now And Then, Here And There
Ghost in the Shell: 2nd Gig
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Macross Frontier
DARKER Than Black
DARKER Than Black: Ryusei no Gemini
Trigun
Black Lagoon
Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu
Lupin the 3rd
Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage
Hajime No Ippo
Full Metal Panic
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Crayon Shin Chan
Gregory Horror Show
Baccano!
Death Note
Highschool of the Dead
Occult Academy
XXXHolic
Ghost Hunt
Ghost Hound
Crest of the Stars
I seem to change this list every time I write it.
My Favorite Anime Films Currently:
Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro
The Dagger of Kamui
Sword of the Stranger
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Paprika
Perfect Blue
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Ponyo
Interstella 5555
Howl's Moving Castle
One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island
Grave of the Fireflies
Spirited Away
My Top Ten Least Favorite Anime Series + Movies:
One: End of Evangelion
Two: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Three: Bleach
Four: Naruto
Five: Gantz
Five: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Six: Trinity Blood
Seven: Inuyasha
Eight: Eiken
Nine: Asobi ni Ikuyo: Bombshells From the Sky
Ten: Kekkaishi
My Favorite Manga Series Currently:
Fullmetal Alchemist
Detective Conan
One Piece
Pluto
20th Century Boys
Rurouni Kenshin
Death Note
Hajime No Ippo
Hunter X Hunter
Umineko no Naku Koro Ni
Gyo
The Enigma of Amigira Fault
Trigun
DARKER Than Black
Astro Boy
Kingdom Hearts II (take that Dashing)
Yotsuba&!
Manga I'm just starting:
Battle Angel Alita
Uzumaki
Dragonball
Billy Bat
Monster
Berserk
Violence Jack
Least Favorite Manga:
Eureka Seven
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Gantz
My Debatable Top Anime Series Villains:
One. Gendo Ikari - Neon Genesis Evangelion
Two. Envy - Fullmetal Alchemist
Three. Legato - Trigun
Four. Light Yagami - Death Note
Five. Beatrice - Umineko No Naku Koro Ni
Six. Vicious - Cowboy Bebop
Seven. Spandam/Cipher Pol. 9 - One Piece
Eight. Ladd Russo - Baccano!
Nine. Alex Rosewater/Alan Gabriel - The Big O
Ten. Lil' Slugger - Paranoia Agent
Eleven. Gouda - Ghost in the Shell: 2nd Gig
Twelve. Rossiu - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Thirteen. Lupin the 3rd - Lupin the 3rd
Did I just make Fawful... happy? Wait... WAHT?
I like the manga well enough, and I've cosplayed Naruto three times as two characters, but I haven't gone anywhere near the anime. A couple years ago, I came to the conclusion that Toonami is where Shonen Jump goes to die.
The anime, I really really tried. I finally stopped watching Shippuuden after the Pain Arc. And I even bared myself enough to watch and retain my seriousness after those horrible final fight scenes. But the fillers... They managed to kill my arrogance.
Manga still goes kickass though, although it is a bit weird.
I'm not a profound anime/manga follower truth to be told. I liked Death Note and I watched Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann with fair amount of amazement.
And didn't you just major spoil Umineko by listing the villain? I haven't seen it myself but from what I understand it's partially a whodunnit.
You always make me happy, baby, YEAH!
No, it's not fully a whodunnit. It merely starts that way. And yeah, I guess I shouldn't say any of this as it is better to go into the series without knowing it's true plot, which I HAVEN'T spoiled here. I'm not a fan of gore, but I am a fan of horror in Victorian settings, and I like the concept of the series.
It's a story about a ag-school freshman named Sawaki who can see microbes with the naked eye and interact with them. And before you claim he's Blessed With Suck, remember, "How d you make beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages?". Yes, there is an entire story arc about Sawaki coercing some yeast to make spirits.
Also, the microbes are !@#$ing cute.
I don't know, as I haven't watched Higurashi. As far as I know, though, they're very different series. However, the best thing to do is to play the visual novel, or read the manga. Avoid the anime, because it's a rushed, crappy, paceless piece of cow shit. The only good thing to come of that one was the opening music which is awesome. Keep in mind that the visual novel is VERY long and WILL take you forever to get through, but it is worth it. The manga is a better adaption but it still can't be a perfect one, as the mystery and plot for Umineko is so complex and layered that leaving even one thing out can make it somewhat impossible to follow or cause it to make less sense. Also, the story was basically DESIGNED to screw with you using the visual novel format, and a lot of that is lost in translation.
On Higurashi, I wanted to watch it for the mystery, but the setting and characters appealed to me far less than Umineko. Apparently, Umineko gets far more disgusting in the gore department, even beating Phantasmagoria believe it or not, than Higurashi ever does. I don't know all of how because I haven't played fully through Episode One of the visual novel, and I stopped in the manga about where I did in the visual novel. I made it farther in the anime, but stopped a bit after the real plot begins so I need to get back into it. It's mostly a matter of the gore I've heard about bugging me, cause damn what I've heard is nasty, and not having the time.
...now that I think about it though, I'm not exactly sure how to rank 1, 2 and 4.
Hahaha, if anything the series is about proving that she's not the whodunnit =P *Major spoilers that don't actually say the whodunnit but still*
Anyways *Ctr+F "Neuro"*
What the hell TTG forum? You disappoint me and Neuro, and you don't want to disappoint Neuro.
So yeah, you guys go read Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, Neuro commands you you lowly insects.
I do like:
Yu yu Hakusho
Dragonball/Dragonball Z
Full Metal Alchemist (first one)
Cowboy Bebop
Samurai Champloo
Death Note
Soul Eater
Don't get me wrong, man. I loooove me some Neuro. And one of my friends is a Yako cosplayer.
And then... there's me. All of it was sewn by hand. ALL OF IT. X___X
(I'm the one on the left, by the way. I wanted Naoto, but I didn't start her Social Link in time.)
You're Soujiro? Nice, reminds me I need to play P4 someday (preferably when there's a P4P).
Anyways, you're forgiven then =P
I also like really old hokey older shows like Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro, Shin Chan, and Doraemon. Stuff that I grew up with. I also like Black Jack in manga form. It was my mom's favorite manga, so I was exposed to it a lot when I was younger.
Top-5 manga: Monster, Berserk, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (kare kano), H2, Planetes.
Tatami Galaxy
Trailer|Hulu|YouTube
It would be difficult for me to over-exaggerate how much I love this show. Starting with the art style, it's heavily stylized, with bold color palettes and a very distinct and fluid animation style. Despite a wide variety of artistic techniques and color palettes, the show maintains a very consistent-feeling artistic direction and visual feel. This show is definitely a feast for the eyes, every episode bringing a new visual delight to the table. Anyone who says that television anime can't have nice art or animation should look at this for an example of everything done right.
The story and characters are excellent, as well. The series revolves around an unnamed college student trying to find his niche on campus, and all the different clubs and life focuses he has available to him. The aforementioned student is a cynical young man that doesn't know what he's going to do and who is searching for the perfect way to spend his campus life. Most of the series is seen from his perspective, and we get treated to his inner monologues as a result. His words go by EXTREMELY fast, but his cynicism and wit make him a very fun character to spend the story with and make the usually-annoying fast-talking approach entirely bearable. Other characters in the cast are also strongly-defined, one of the best being Ozu, a mischievous friend whose actions always seem to work to the student's detriment, and the "love interest" of the show who, as far as anime females go, is an incredible character whose stoic demeanor and steady mind are a welcome relief after having to watch an anime with a squealing, "adorable" female cast.
The way the story is told is one of the best parts of the series, and it's hard to explain the narrative device used here. The timeline "resets" many times, though the show is told so well and the right characters remain enough knowledge of past episodes to make the show feel like it's moving forward in a way that many entirely linear 300+ episode series have never been able to muster. One worry I had going in was that it would just amount to a stupid gimmick, but having seen the entire series I can assure you that it pays off to GREAT effect in the end. The story is one of the most rounded, complete-feeling productions I've seen out of a television anime, and the whole thing wraps up in a very satisfying way, with a beautiful, relevant, and heartwarming message.
This show is one that simply has everything. The story is engaging, the characters are well-defined and distinct from those in other shows, the animation itself is beautiful in terms of the actual animation quality and the art design that is animated, voice acting is excellent, the music is beautiful and atmospheric...the show has everything. This is a show I would recommend to anybody, and it's the sort of thing I wish I could see more of. It is an extremely dense viewing experience and may take a few times through to truly take in the whole experience, but it's a show that, by the end of it all, is entirely worth it.
On Blu-Ray I have Akira, Evangelion 1.11, Paprika and The Sky Crawlers.
Maybe I should rip them onto my lappy, then convert them to my caanoo so I got more chance of watching them.
I watched five episodes, almost half of this series. This is a very interesting show. It sports a small cast and a Groundhog Day device, two things that could easily come across as lazy, contrived production and writing. Yet it doesn't, because like Groundhog Day, the characters are interesting and likable enough, and the events intriguing enough that it keeps you wanting to know where it all leads in the end. As the series is only eleven episodes, the series seems to be just long enough to keep from boring the viewer. I'm actually tempted to just keep watching the whole thing, especially as I'm really interested to know how it ends. Like you said, each episode has something distinctive in the animation department, both style and palette-wise. My favorite scenes are the night-time scenes, as this is one series that most accurately depicts what night-time really looks and feels like, which is quite a feat seeing as all of the artwork feels so simplistic. At some points, I did see some things I disliked, such as the scenes filmed with a real camera and given an animation filter, but I have a feeling you could give me a reason why this was done. Or perhaps there is no reason. Either way, that was one major gripe I had regarding the animation. From what I've seen so far, I would recommend this, which surprises me, as I went in expecting to not like it. It's not based on a style that I'm normally a huge fan of, nor does it use palettes I'm normally a fan of either, but in this case, I like it. The comedy in the show doesn't make me laugh at all, but I never felt like it's really supposed to either.
I'll write about some series I recommend as well. I'll steal your write-up style Dashing. It's simple and I like it for this.
Now and Then, Here and There
Youtube|Hulu
"Shu is a typical Japanese boy, but has an unbeatable, optimistic and determined attitude. However, when he sees a mysterious girl with strange eyes named Lala-Ru up on a smokestack, he is soon pulled into a strange desert world. Shu soon discovers the true terrors of war, which includes genocide, brutal torture, hunger, thirst, and child exploitation. Now Shu is trying to save Lala-Ru, as well as his hard earned, and often relunctant, new friends from the insane dictator, Hamdo. Whether Shu can possibly accomplish saving those he cares about while still holding up to his values remains to be seen."
I don't know how many people have heard of this anime, unless they happen to frequent AnimeNewsNetwork or something. This anime is one of the few that I would proudly call a true masterpiece of storytelling, character drama, pacing, art, animation, use of color, use of lighting, tone, and atmosphere. This is, for me, a perfect anime, like Bebop. And sadly, this is also an anime that the people who have seen it are 50/50 on. They either consider it masterful like I do, or hate it. The main reason they hate it is because it's an incredibly tough anime to watch, moreso than Grave of the Fireflies, and possibly as much as if not moreso than Neon Genesis Evangelion.
This is a gritty, grim, cruel, bleak story, with few happy moments to be had. Just when you think you can settle down and take a breath, this anime manages to find new ways to make you feel tense, hold your breath, and feel terrible for the main characters. And yet the journey is so damn well made and interesting. This is a story you'll want to see through. The characters are incredibly well written and well used. Outside of a select few, this is the dark side of humanity, with very few redeemable or likable characters to be had. Yet again, they are extremely well used and well written. You will get so pissed and hate so many people through this journey, yet you'll understand them and why they do what they do. You'll understand what motivates them, and you'll realize the logic behind their horrible deeds. All except for maybe the villain, who is deranged and despicable beyond your wildest beliefs. I actually should have added him into my villain list from before, but at the time I wrote that, I forgot I had not seen this show yet.
This is a story that is about the whole, not just the end or the body. This is a story that says, here is how things are, it is what it is, and make of it what you will. Yet there is always a spark of hope behind it all. I wish I could show off some of the more gorgeous art behind it all, but I couldn't find those select screencaps in Google images, and didn't want to spoil it all. Needless to say, this anime had some visuals that really stuck with me, both in terms of lighting, cinematography, and content. There are some gorgeous scenes in this show.
As far as I remember, but am not sure on this, the music is somewhat nonexistent. If I'm remembering right, this anime used silence to its advantage a lot to give everything a feeling of bleakness and loneliness. The main character of the show starts out as a character somewhat similar to someone like Goku or Gon, but much more well-written and developed. Since this story takes a grim, realistic approach, I find it a very interesting choice to put a character like that in the situation he's placed in. Yet it works, and the world and the events in it develop the character quite far. This isn't a character like Gon or Goku who can overcome all odds because of pure will or dumb determination, but this is a character who has that similar will and determination, and it is his one last, best hope to survive in a harsh world that overwhelms him. Instead of being his means of beating the odds, it's his one string holding him up at all and keeping him from going under. And that is an amazing take on this type of character. I won't spoil anything though. You all have to see this show now. It wraps everything up by the end, and is one of the most heavy, thought-provoking, uplifting, hopeful experiences you can have in the form of an anime story. This is a story about true courage and survival, and it might make you look at yourself in a different light and realize that no matter how bad things are, there is always a small string of hope.
In a way, I would call this the Shawshank Redemption of the anime world.
Yes, Now and Then Here and There is amazing. Funny you mention the Groundhog day device, since it also appears in Higurashi.
This is probably a good sign
Atlus has said there's no plans for a P4P to my eternal sorrow.
On Topic...BIG WALL O' TEXT
Anime I'm watching currently:
- The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (I finially got around to picking up this season again)
- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
- Valkyria Chronicles (As of writing this, I am in the middle of the last episode, which has cemented this series as a Gigantic Waste of Time.)
- Star Driver
- Persona: Trinity Soul
Favorite Anime:
- Full Metal Panic! (Including Fumoffu and TSR)
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Black Lagoon (including Second Barrage)
- Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
- Excel Saga
- Rune Soldier
- Baccano!
- Ouran Highschool Host Club
- Big O
- RahXephon
- Mobile Suit Gundam: 8th MS Team
- Record of Lodoss War OVA
- Welcome to the NHK
- Ghost in the Shell: 2nd G.I.G.
- Super Dimension Fortress Macross (and it's English adaptation, Robotech)
- Kuroshitsuji
- Gokudo
- Tenchi Muyo
- Cyborg 009
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Rurouni Kenshin (Until the end of the Kyoto arc)
- Kino's Journey
- The Vision of Escaflowne
- Voltron (GoLion if you want to be correct on it)
-Azumanga Daioh
Anime Films:
- Nausicaä and the Valley of the Winds
- X
- Vampire hunter
- Princess Mononoke
- Tenchi Forever
- Perfect Blue
- Grave of Fireflies
- Interstella 555
- Voltron: Fleet of Doom
- Galaxy Express 999
- Ghost in the Shell
Manga:
- Ouran Highschool Host Club
- Sgt. Frog
- Excel Saga
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
- Cyborg 009
- Otogi Zoshi
- Samurai Champloo
- Kamen Teacher
- The Persona 3 and Persona 4 mangas
- Kamen Rider spirits
- Pet Shop of Horrors
- Rune Soldier
- Full Metal Panic! and Full Metal Panic! Sigma
You did yourself great injustice by having this story told through the anime rather than the game. Also...they made some changes in the anime that didn't do it any good.
I hope you decide to play the game one day, it's epic.
Really....I don't understand why they found it necessary to adapt this into an anime. The game already contains a lot of cutscenes.
I have watched an LP of the game, not owning a PS3 and having heard great things about it, and I loved the plot and characters. This is why I find the anime to be such a waste of time. I mostly watched it because I heard it was terrible and my morbid curiosity got the better of me like it normally does.
Owh okay. ^^
I was just choosing my words carefully because if I said "I've never really enjoyed manga" then I'd get lots of people called me a biased prick or something
Reasonable. Staring at black and white drawings all the time. You get used to it when you read more though.
Animes, on the other hand, visually selective enough to not get confused. Well, at least, until the stories kick in.
I prefer the classic magical girl, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors...
The best one I'm watching is Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. Full Metal Alchemist is great too (still need to watch Brotherhood..)
The Full Metal Panic series is a great laugh! And the latest one I've watched is 2 episodes of Eden of the East - an unusual series already...
In terms of manga, Sailor moon again and Keroro Gunsou. XD
Stop right there and read the manga if you haven't. Seriously. Also read the manga for Sakura CC, it has some very interesting differences towards the end
I agree. Although I greatly enjoyed CCS the anime, the ending of the manga is better. So what you should do is watch the whole anime stop before the last episode and read the last manga.
Gregory Horror Show
Youtube|Wiki
This is a tough one to describe. I guess I would say that this is a weird mix between a David Lynch story, the Twilight Zone, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Psycho. The show also has a lot of fridge horror elements, and can be pretty creepy without overtly shoving scary scenes in your face. There are a few jump scenes, but they never feel overtly like they're made to make you jump, but just to add to the overall wtf factor of the show.
The show is presented from the first-person viewpoint of a person who has come to a mysterious hotel owned by an old mouse known as Gregory. The episodes are separated into nights, and each volume is about a different person. Each night is only a few minutes long, and as they progress, they begin to get more bizarre and frightening. There is some comedy to it as well, but overall the stories have an extremely bizarre, frightening factor that reminds me a lot of stuff like David Lynch's Rabbits. The first episode starts with the words "What am I doing walking through this forest?" said in a slow, absent-minded tone, which is the perfect way to present the tone of the series for the first time. The stories are interesting and are usually centered around meeting different characters or facing challenges, until the story begins to come together at the end of each arc. Actually, I'm mostly giving my impressions of the first arc, because that's the only one I've finished so far. I still have to finish arcs two-four, and I'm especially excited for arc three as it is set on a train.
While the look of the show might seem just like really ugly CGI at first glance, as the show comes together, you'll see that the style really fits the tone and atmosphere of the story, and in a way makes a lot of sense. It almost feels like another reality, and no, that's not giving anything away. There's a menacing aura around everything and everyone. I really recommend watching this alone in a dark room on fullscreen somehow, although I'm not sure Youtube quality is good enough to allow that. The episodes are short enough that one can watch quite a few of them at a time. The sound design and music is very similar, again, to Angelo Badalamenti's work on Rabbits, and gets unnerving quickly. Gregory's sarcastic, seedy snicker is sure to stay with you long after you hear it.
Now I will admit this is not a show for everyone. It's one of those shows you really just have to get to enjoy, as a lot of people would take one look at the animation and write it off. Don't. It's a very well made series of short pieces that tie together beautifully, and the creators of it were geniuses at creating atmosphere. Apparently GHS was a video game as well, and I have to wonder how good that is. I hear good things about it. If you like the bizarre and the weird, this is a PERFECT show to check out. I really doubt you'd be disappointed. It's not a masterpiece, but it is very intriguing and one of the best instances of Lynchian horror I know of.
Quite dark and disturbing, but also pretty funny.
The short episodes make it pretty addictive too.