Anime?

[Demosthenes]

Does anyone else here like anime? If so, list your favorite series, what you like about anime, or whatever.

My favorites: Fullmetal Alchemist (and FmA Brotherhood), Dragon Ball Z, Death Note, Witch Hunter Robin and Mushishi are all very good. For movies: Ghost in the Shell, Summer Wars and Metropolis were all quite good too. Especially Summer Wars, which was simply amazing. I'm also into manga. Right now I like FmA, Mushishi and Claymore.

What I like about anime/manga is how diverse it is. There are Sci Fi, fantasy, slice-of-life and pretty much any genre you can think of. Wheras American animation is pretty much just kiddie cartoons or 'adult' sitcom cartoons. Some of them are really good and definitly on par with good anime, like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Batman TAS, but a lot of them aren't all that great. (Though American animation may be getting better. I've seen some episodes of Adventure Time and the first MLP episode, and they're actually quite good.)

I think the main reason I like anime/manga is that I like how it tells a story as complex as one found in a regular TV show or movie, except it's animated. And there are things that you can do in anime that would be impossible or ludicrously expensive with live action TV or movies.

So why do you like anime?

[Silus - Shard of Flame he/him]

Don't forget Phineas and Ferb! (totally awesome)

Anime I like. Death Note, Nanoha, and I've seen some of Naruto, thought that was pretty good. I've been meaning to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion, and a few others.

It's true, anime seems to just have more variety than everything else. Where other mediums tend to focus on certain kinds of stories, anime just does everything; it's a little ridiculous.

[Joe ST he/him]

I've watched at least 50% of Gundam, I got hooked on that last year lol... I'm also a really big fan(boy) of Studio Ghibli, whos stories are amazing. A:TLA (Avatar) is also pretty awesome. I've not really been bored enough to begin watching a new series recently. Especially since I had other TV shows to watch.

[FrostedDonut he/him]

Favorite anime? Mine are Serial Experiments Lain, NANA, and Nodame Cantabile.

But I also like FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Paranoia Agent, Elfen Lied, One Piece, Honey and Clover, Outlaw Star, Minami-Ke, Lucky Star, Gundam Wing, Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny, Neon Genesis Evangelion, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad....this list is becoming long so I'll stop.

Basically my favorite genres are Sci-Fi and Romance/Slice-of-life.

The first anime I ever watched was what everyone usually starts out with: Sailor Moon and DBZ. Then everything on Toonami. Then later I moved on to titles aimed at young girls like DNAngel and Fruits Basket (the anime is fluffy and light, the manga is much more mature). And then I'd say I started watching it all the time.

I love Japan for giving us anime. I love the USA for giving us indie comics that are more diverse and engaging than most manga I've read (but in a different way....manga usually lacks subtlety and is heavy on over-exaggerated gestures and scenarios while western independent comics have a lot more subtle humor and character development.)

[KChan she/her]

Upvotes given for Mushi-shi and and BECK! I'm also a big fan of anything by Studio Ghibli, have seen some Durarara!, Fate/Stay Night, Trigun, and Cowboy Bebop, and I've seen all of Shoujo Kakumei Utena and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Evangelion I actually watched start to finish in a 24 hour period. I do not recommend doing that. Seriously. Just don't do it. Magic User's Club is also fun, if a little ecchi at times.

I used to be a huge fan of Bleach and Naruto, but as the artists are forced to extend the series to get JUMP more money, I've found the plotlines increasingly contrived. I still might go back and catch up on them anyways, though. I've seen part of the Fruits Basket anime, but I prefer the manga by far.

[Sigyn]

I'm more of a manga fan than an anime fan. I'm picky about my art, and it is usually so much better in the manga.

Still, I like pretty much everything from Miyazaki, The Big O, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Neon Genesis Evangelion (especially the update), parts of Read or Die and Read or Dream, Cowboy Bebop, Hikaru no Go, and Last Exile.

Does Avatar: the Last Airbender count as anime? I thought it was made in the US.

I have two little boys and right now they love Dragonball Z, Knights of the Zodiac, Dragon Drive, Voltron, Pokemon, and Blue Dragon.

[KChan she/her]

With AtLA, your mileage may vary. It depends on your definition of anime. I've typically noticed three main definitions:

1. Anime is Japanese animation. No exceptions.
   
2. "Anime" = Japanese for "animation." Therefore, all animation is technically anime.
   
3. Anime is usually Japanese animation, but can include works from other countries if they're up to snuff.
   

I'm somewhere between #2 and #3, and I most definitely consider AtLA anime.

In terms of manga, I'm also a big fan of Hikaru no Go, One Piece, Nurarihyon no Mago, Kekkaishi, and Skip Beat. I've never seen the anime for any of those, aside from a couple One Piece episodes.

[Demosthenes]

Don't forget Phineas and Ferb! (totally awesome)

How could I forget?!

Favorite anime? Mine are Serial Experiments Lain, NANA, and Nodame Cantabile.

I love Japan for giving us anime. I love the USA for giving us indie comics that are more diverse and engaging than most manga I've read (but in a different way....manga usually lacks subtlety and is heavy on over-exaggerated gestures and scenarios while western independent comics have a lot more subtle humor and character development.)

I'd love to finish SEL sometime, I really liked it. I wouldn't say western indie comics are better than manga (though there are some of those I like too). I'm sure there are indie mangas in Japan that aren't commercial enough to translate for Westerners, but are at least as good.

Evangelion I actually watched start to finish in a 24 hour period. I do not recommend doing that. Seriously. Just don't do it.

First chance I get, I am totally doing that.XD

I used to be a huge fan of Bleach and Naruto, but as the artists are forced to extend the series to get JUMP more money, I've found the plotlines increasingly contrived. I still might go back and catch up on them anyways, though.

I've never been that into Bleach, but used to like Naruto. That is, until

Deidara died. But according to Wikipedia, he comes back to life, so I might read the manga again sometime

With AtLA, your mileage may vary. It depends on your definition of anime. I've typically noticed three main definitions:

1. Anime is Japanese animation. No exceptions.
   
2. "Anime" = Japanese for "animation." Therefore, all animation is technically anime.
   
3. Anime is usually Japanese animation, but can include works from other countries if they're up to snuff.
   

I'm somewhere between #2 and #3, and I most definitely consider AtLA anime.

I too am somewhere between 2 and 1. Though anime is Japanese for animation, and can technically include any animation, I think it should only apply to Japanese animation, if only so that people know what you're talking about when you say 'anime'.

[KChan she/her]

If you're looking for something good to happen with that in the Naruto manga, though, don't hold your breath. The way it happened is contrived, ridiculous, and nothing more than fanservice mixed with the Ultimate Battle of Ultimate Destiny. The part you read about on Wikipedia is actually what made me lose interest.

And lots of random Sharingan for no apparent reason.

PM me if you want anything more spoileriffic than that.

[Eerongal he/him]

...Serial Experiments Lain...

Probably one of the best animes ever right here. Pretty trippy at times, too.

[Silus - Shard of Flame he/him]

Isn't SEL heavy on the blood violence and nudity? I've heard it's really good, but those are sticking points for me.

[Eerongal he/him]

Isn't SEL heavy on the blood violence and nudity? I've heard it's really good, but those are sticking points for me.

Not really. I don't remember really SEEING any violence in it (though it's been a while) and there's a few points where there's "nudity" but you don't see anything (i.e. she's nude but you see head/shoulder shots). IIRC On the violence part, there's a (single) part where someone shoots someone else with a gun but you don't see any blood, and you see someone jump off a building to commit suicide. Other than that you hear news stories about suicides on occasion. That's the only violence i remember.

Here's what IMDB has to say about it in regards to parental advisory

In fact, one of the things it says: "This anime involves heavy psychological contents and is very disturbing, but not that violent."

[FrostedDonut he/him]

. I wouldn't say western indie comics are better than manga (though there are some of those I like too). I'm sure there are indie mangas in Japan that aren't commercial enough to translate for Westerners, but are at least as good.

I don't think western indie comics are "better", I love manga, I just think most of the manga I read doesn't resonate with me in the same way western comics do and vice versa, and I don't think that's because one is better than the other it's just a difference in culture.

However, nothing makes me laugh like a good comedy manga or anime. Bring on the tsunderes and yanderes.

And Kimura-sensei...

MY HERO.

Probably one of the best animes ever right here. Pretty trippy at times, too.

Yeah it's pretty much my all time favorite. Which is weird because I'm a character driven person but SEL isn't very character driven.

Isn't SEL heavy on the blood violence and nudity? I've heard it's really good, but those are sticking points for me.

Nope.

There's little violence and no nudity that I'm aware of. There is a scene involving masturbation, but it doesn't show anything and is creepy and not erotic at all.

You could be mistaking it for Elfen Lied which is pretty much all blood and gore and nudity.

Edited October 1, 2011 by Throatriptron

[Emeralis00 she/her]

1. Anime is Japanese animation. No exceptions.
2. "Anime" = Japanese for "animation." Therefore, all animation is technically anime.
3. Anime is usually Japanese animation, but can include works from other countries if they're up to snuff

#2 for when I talk to people who don't watch anime, but usually #3.

My first anime was Yume Tsukai.

Ones I have liked are Bleach, FLCL, Naruto (early on), anything by Miyazaki, Last Exile, Gundam00 (see my name), Deathnote, Code Geass, and Higurashi.

There are many on my to-see list.

I read more manga than watch anime though, so that list will take awhile.

[Joe ST he/him]

Gundam 00 is my favourite of the Gundams, I think... Wing is pretty great too. Turn A (∀) is seriously weird, but fun all the same

[Emeralis00 she/her]

I have been meaning to watch more of them, but I have this quirk where its hard for me to start related works, unless I start in in-universe chronological order. The problem here is that there isn't one big chronological order.

[Silus - Shard of Flame he/him]

Not really. I don't remember really SEEING any violence in it (though it's been a while) and there's a few points where there's "nudity" but you don't see anything (i.e. she's nude but you see head/shoulder shots). IIRC On the violence part, there's a (single) part where someone shoots someone else with a gun but you don't see any blood, and you see someone jump off a building to commit suicide. Other than that you hear news stories about suicides on occasion. That's the only violence i remember.

Here's what IMDB has to say about it in regards to parental advisory

In fact, one of the things it says: "This anime involves heavy psychological contents and is very disturbing, but not that violent."

I don't think western indie comics are "better", I love manga, I just think most of the manga I read doesn't resonate with me in the same way western comics do and vice versa, and I don't think that's because one is better than the other it's just a difference in culture.

However, nothing makes me laugh like a good comedy manga or anime. Bring on the tsunderes and yanderes.

And Kimura-sensei...

MY HERO.

Yeah it's pretty much my all time favorite. Which is weird because I'm a character driven person but SEL isn't very character driven.

Nope.

There's little violence and no nudity that I'm aware of. There is a scene involving masturbation, but it doesn't show anything and is creepy and not erotic at all.

You could be mistaking it for Elfen Lied which is pretty much all blood and gore and nudity.

Elfen Lied! That's the one I was thinking of.

[FrostedDonut he/him]

Elfen Lied! That's the one I was thinking of.

Yeah don't watch that if you're not into gratuitous boob shots, insane amounts of violence, and characters that only communicate by saying "nyu".

Think Chobits if Chi frequently ripped people's heads off with invisible hands.

That being said....hate Chobits.

[Joe ST he/him]

well I just watched Shuffle!, Fullmetal Alchemist and Aria the Scarlet Ammo, and started on The Legend of Legendary Heroes... lol, if only youtube had more

[Sigyn]

I forgot to mention The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. It's a fun movie.

[Joe ST he/him]

Indeed it is.

I seriously recommended The Legend of Legendary Heroes, it has a great story so far, though the season finale is a bit pants.

as an addition to the above, Fairy Tail is EVEN BETTER! Fantastic stuff

[KChan she/her]

I haven't seen the Fairy Tail anime, but I adore the manga. I need to get caught back up on it. I particularly adore Erza; I even did a last-minute cosplay of her one year.

[Aashyma she/her]

I am shocked and amazed that no one has mentioned Baccano! .

[Ryan he/him]

I watched that the other week on Netflix. Now, normally Netflix is not the place to watch Anime because it's dubbed, but given that this one is set in 1930's America the dub actually worked very well, especially because of the many accents involved (both 30's Gangster and European). I don't think I'm capable of hearing an accent in Japanese, so for that at least I'm glad I saw the dub.

I'm going to have to watch it again. Because of its non-linearity, the first six or so episodes (of a 16-episode series) don't make much sense. I think the story does need quite a bit of non-linearity, but I also think they went a little overboard and could have made a greater effort to ensure that things made more sense early on.

Oh, and some of the characters get annoying. Actually, quite a few characters are annoying. Ladd Russo, Jacuzzi Splot (what a name), and Isaac and Myria top the list. (Although those last two are actually awesome most of the time. It's mostly Myria's exclamations of "INCREDIBLE!" at every little thing Isaac says that annoys me.)

Those caveats aside, I absolutely loved it.

A word of warning, it earns its TV-MA in bloody violence. There is little language and no sex.

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

We're watching Bleach and just caught up to Viz's 67-episode gap on Hulu. So now we have to wait. =\

Which means we're back to watching FMA:B. We had stopped at episode 6. We watched about half the original series years ago but got distracted. And we have over a dozen volumes of the manga.

I think we have got to watch Bebop soon though, maybe after FMA:B. Karen has never seen it at all.