Beginner's anime

[unclejack]

Okay peoples, I've only seen a couple of anime movies but I think I'd like to get more into it at some point but don't know where to start. Any suggestions? I know Akira is probably the obvious choice but I read some threads that said it was kinda boring. But who knows, I may try to watch it sometime anyway.

 

[Talysia]

Hmm, beginners anime. I guess it depends on which genre you like. If you like sci-fi, then try Ghost in the Shell or for sci-fi/action/comedy try Cowboy Bebop (I definitely recommend that one - a favourite of mine). If you find that some of the anime based on Japanese culture or mythology baffles you, then these two are geared more towards western culture.

 

[unclejack]

I'm a big sci fi fan so that would be my only reason for watchin anime, because of the sci fi element. I've seenparts of some of the recent anime movies that have come out in the past couple of years and some of them are pretty bizarre. I can stomach an abstract taste to a film if it's a regular movie, but no so much when it comes to animation. Not sure why, I guess when I'm watchin an animated movie I feel like I have to have some kind of realism to it so it doesn't feel like a cartoon in the sense that it throws caution to the wind it what it reveals visually. At times it seems that you can get away with alot more with animation than you can with a regular movie and I find it rather agrivating when people making animated movies use that as an excuse to wow the audience through bizarre plots supported by strange scenes in the animation. In both regular film and animation I'm pretty old fashioned in the sense that the movie has to have some kind of dramatic quality to it and has to spend a considerable degree of time on character development.
Anyways, definately sci fi. I'll check out Ghost in the Shell and Akira for starters, but if anyone has anymore suggestions I'd love to hear em.

 

[Azure]

Hmmmm where abouts are you based it makes a difference for titles? Also if yo ucould let us know what kind of of books and TV shows you like it might help.
Anyway my suggestions:
The Vision of Escalflowne: Fantasy, but with giant robots
Neon Genisis Evangelion: A classic, rightly or wrongly you decide. Does get odd though so may not be for you.
Voices of a Distant Star: Amazing film made mostly by one man in his spare time.
Martian Sucessor Nadesico: Comedy which parodies a lot of other anime and science fiction.
The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumaya - Now this is odd but well made and references a lot of Western Sci-fi. Hurhi is a girl who is desperate to find aliens, espers and time travellers and has no idea they are all around her.

 

[Melanie Nilles]

Besides those already recommended, I would also recommend:
Dual--mechs and lots of humorous situations
Mobile Suit Gundam, 08th MS Team--mechs again (what can I say, but my husband likes them) but a good story and more serious
Full Metal Panic--(not FM Alchemist) another military SF
Macross Plus

 

[unclejack]

As far as tv shows and movies, my favoirite tv show is the 4400. I like a little mystery in the storyline and I'm definately not into extreme fantasy that goes so far out there that it becomes interpretive. I hated 2001 a space audessy because it didn't make any sense and left so many unanswered questions. I like a little bit of that in movies but not so far that you have to totally draw your own conclusions about the whole premise of the movie. A good example of what I would probably like in the realm of anime is the movie Titan A.E. even though it's not anime, although it is an animated film. Very futeristic and visually exciting. A little of the fighting/samorai kinda thing in anime would be cool but I can't stomach too much of that stuff especially if the action becomes the only good quality in the film. Basically, I like sci fi but I'm not into fantasy very much at all.

 

[C Of K]

Vampire Hunter D: BloodLust.

It's a wild ride, beautifully illustrated, funny, well put together, and if you like it there is an extremely old original that is very pleasing.

 

[unclejack]

I'll probably pass on Vampire D, I'm not much into the horror scene, I like to stick to sci fi. Actually I just watched Akira tonight and it was pretty good. I thought it was a little drawn out and the ending was kind of confusing, I didn't really get what happened in the end of it. You're welcome to enlighten me if it makes sense to you. Anyway, I found a site at AnimeNfo.Com that has a huge list of like every anime movie ever made and I've been browsing through it. I'll probably check out Ghost in the Shell pretty soon but one title that has really caught my eye is Perfect Blue. It looks kinda freaky and wierd and I kinda like that kind of thing from time to time. I just don't like a movie like Spirited Away that's filled with all kinds of magical fantasy type stuff. Anyway, if you've seen Perfect Blue lemme know if it's worth watchin cuz it certainly looks like it.

 

[Connavar]

Cowboy Bebop is like Firefly. A SF combined with alittle western theme. Not the setting like Firefly but the hero is one of the most popular ever in anime.


Another great anime shows are :

Full Metal Alchemist - great shonen,dark,great characters.
Kenshin - the ultimate samurai shonen .
Hajime No Ippo - is about boxning, its really about the boxers life,great characters
Slam Dunk- fun basket ball anime
Hunter X Hunter - a very good action anime. it has a very interesting fight system.


You want comedy?

the best is School Rumble


Try those and you will see what type of anime you like. After you know what type you like i can help you even more. I have watched 100's anime series.

 

[unclejack]

Actually I already know that my main interest will be in the realm of sci fi. The thing that attracts me to anime is the exciting visuals that can be offered through the animation that alot of times you don't find in film coupled with a good story and good character development. Perfect Blue doesn't look like sci fi but more of a psychological thriller which I like also. I haven't watched a trailer for cowboy behop yet. On the surface it doesn't really look like anything I would like but I could be wrong. Ghost in the Shell looks aweseome and I'm sure I'll check it out eventually. Lemme know about any good sci fi that you know of. Thanks.

 

[Connavar]

SF arent the biggest genre in anime and if you want to watch only SF than you will sorely dissapointed. There are alot of genres with great animes and SF arent not one of them.


By SF you mean also superpowered main characters stories like most teen animes of the like Full Metal Alchemist,Hunter X Hunter etc



Cowboy Bebop is very SF and its one of the best anime ever, if you dont like it then it will be almost impossible to find animes you will like IMO

You know of Gundam series? Transformers are clear rip offs of Gundam,Macross animes.

 

[C Of K]

Yeah, but plenty of animes are rip offs. Rip offs can be great! What would the world be without rip offs?
Wait? I just had an original idea for my next anime classic.

"A World Without Rip Offs!" It'll be bigger than
Pokémon, Power Rangers, and DBZ

 

[Connavar]

There are inspirations and then there are clear rip offs


Transformers are like making an american version of the scary movie Ringu and then thinking the american version is the original....

 

[Azure]

Perfect Blue is amazing, but if you though Spirited Away Perfect Blue is odder but you may like it since it's set in the real world.
Connavar> The giant robot thing is a whole genre, Macross isn't the only giant robot show. It's like babarian with sword books, there's a lot of them all riffing off each other.

 

[Connavar]

Nah im more of a Gundam fan really i dont know much of Macross, i saw only alittle of it.

Gundam is like Conan the Barbarian it was the first of them haha.....

 

[unclejack]

Yeah, I haven't even seen all of spirited away, only parts of it but what I saw was enough to convince me that it's too bizarre for me. But like you said, perfect blue looks like it has a semi-normal setting and plot to it so I think I'll like it. I don't mind a little bit of an abstract taste to the movies I watch as long as it doesn't go so far to make you question the whole premise of the movie or take you so far out that it has no real bearing on any kind of actuall reality.
And I did watch Ghost in the Shell but I have to say I was kind of dissapointed. I mean, it was great visually, the animation was fantastic and I even like the futeristic feel to it. But ultimately the movie itself was very anti-climactic ( think that's how you spell that) and didn't offer much in the realm of suspense or action.

 

[Connavar]

Ghost In The Shell is anime series. Watch the series before making a judgement. Its a very complex series you have to watch a while to understand it.

 

[Talysia]

Agreed. I liked the series better than the film. The film was only loosely based on the artist's original work, and the series was more faithful.

 

[C Of K]

There are inspirations and then there are clear rip offs

Transformers are like making an american version of the scary movie Ringu and then thinking the american version is the original....

It may be so. But whether it is the original or not, many people hold Transformers in high regard. That in itself makes it something great.

Believe me, when I was watching the cartoon, I didn't care if it came out before Gobots or not. I liked Transformers better because the show was better.

What bothered me was when they replaced all the cool transformers with stupid ones. Now that did make me wish they would return to the original Transformers.

I refused to watch that other stuff. I thought it was terrible. I wrote a letter to the people, telling them -- saying...

 

[Azure]

We only get a small percentage of all the transformers series they made. There are quite a few series more in the original tone about, but sadly the only way you can get them is fan subbed or fan dubbed.