I think I need some decent Anime recommendations.

[-42-]

So I have been watching a ton of anime over the past year or so (much to the chagrin of my GPA) and now that my finals are over I'm looking for new shows. Here's a list of everything I've seen (period) so I don't waste anyone's time (aside from my own, of course). Also, for the record, I watch dubs, not subs.

Mobile Suit Gundam - This kicked it off for me, I went in expecting a pretty childish giant robot show and instead got slammed with a show featuring genocide, (semi) plausible warfare, grey morality, a reasonably killable cast, an awesome antagonist, and all around cool-ness. Naturally followed up by...

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam - This was a bit darker, making the bad guys a bit more evil, the characters a bit more killable and made the 'war is bad' message of the show a bit more ham-handed. Still good.

G Gundam - Pretty much a kids show, quit after three episodes. Continuing on the quest for giant robots...

Gundam Wing - Started out great, what with the sociopathic main characters in their massive doom-machines, but got bogged down in unnecessary plot twists (which made very little sense) and some of the worst monologues I've ever heard.

Code Geass - This was a great surprise for me. I was expecting some sort of 'high school kid saves the world' story. Instead I found a show that was a master of all trades. It had a bit of everything and pulled it all off with maniacal glory.

Gundam SEED - Pretty good, though the ridiculously genocidal opposing factions really pulled me out of the action. It took the original aspects of Mobile Suit Gundam and supercharged them a bit too much for my taste (the angst was that much angstier, the battles were that much flashier, the governments were that much more bat-shit-crazy).

Gundam SEED Destiny - I only got seven episodes in, then I realized that it would be Zeta all over again, and decided not to subject myself to it.

Gundam 00 - This was good, with a good cast of characters, rewarding plot twists and excellent animation. The second season maintained the quality.

Robot King Gainer - I couldn't get involved for the life of me, the characters all felt so bland (not helped by the fairly shoddy voice acting).

Blue Gender - This was difficult to finish, simply because it was depressing, even for me.

that and the whole Gaia's revenge twist was dumb

Ah! My Goddess - After getting beaten down by Blue Gender I decided to migrate to the opposite end of the spectrum. This was a pleasant surprise, simply because it was all so adorable, not out of any intellectual value.

Shuffle! - Leapfrogged over the the adorable/dirty line and never looked back. I was mildly amused until later in the season

when people start going insane

at which point I was REALLY amused.

Samurai Champloo - Excellent, I really shouldn't need to explain why.

Air Gear - Started out excellent (especially in the dialogue department) but got bogged down by monologues about flying (seriously) and more and more ludicrous 'powers'. Still good.

BECK/Mongolian Chop Squad - Really good show, even if the dynamics of the record industry are butchered (for the sake of the story) the characters and writing pull through with flying colors

Aquarion - Not the Sleep song, lamentably. As funny as the (implied) orgasm powered robot is, the show's cast killed it for me. And plot. And writing. (Did I mention the orgasm-powered-robot?)

Baccano! - This was awesome, on every level. Good characters, writing, action, plot, you name it.

Durarara! - A successor to Baccano, also good, though it can't quite match the original.

Baka and Test: Like most Japanese comedies, I'm pretty sure something got lost in translation. Only so many nosebleed jokes a man can take.

Bamboo Blade - A pretty good high-school-kids-doing-stuff show. It didn't blow me away, but it was solid.

Chobits - Creeped me out. Quit halfway through.

Chrome Shelled Regios - A bit of post-apocalypse everything. It was fun to watch, though nothing was particularly spectacular.

Chäos;HEAd - A glorious bit of mind screw. It could probably be renamed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Otakus. (you only wish it was a harem anime)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Aside from the eternal eight arc, this show has been nothing but fun, mostly due to the fact that I find the narrator to be so relate-able.

Corpse Princess - Like Chobits (despite the two really having very little in common), the romantic subtexts creeped me the .... out and I had to set this one aside.

Darker Than Black - This was really good. Plenty of grown-up morality themes, excellent action, and compelling characters.

Hellsing - Alucard.

Desert Punk - Probably the funniest anime I have seen to date. Lots of sarcasm, sex jokes, and subverted/inverted tropes.

Eden of the East - More fun with amnesia. Good overall, though some ideas felt underdeveloped.

Fairy Tale - Pretty sure I saw a fan/third-party dub. It was fun. Not brilliant, but fun.

Full Metal Panic! - Lots of fun actually. Manages to juggle funny/serious quite well and has a nicely fleshed out cast.

Fullmetal Alchemist - Brilliant until Dues Ex

Alternate Universe

.

Ga-Rei-Zero -

Everybody dies.

Not for me.

Gad Guard - Enjoyable (and has an awesome opening) but occasionally came off as bland.

Ghost Hunt - Good show. Plays homage to classic horror movies and doesn't resort to gore-porn to maintain suspense.

SDF Macross - I'm only halfway through it, as my incentive to watch dropped off immediately after

Fokker dies

.

Gungrave - Saw it on G4 ages ago. Fond memories.

Trigun - Excellent.

Outlaw Star - Also excellent.

Heroic Age - While the show outside of battle itself is fine, there is almost no tension when your hero is several hundred fold more powerful then just about anything else.

Kaze No Stigma - Another pleasant surprise. The show manages to have a main character that is simultaneously mysterious, a bit of a jerkass yet likeable.

Last Exile - Excellent all around, it also gets bonus points for looking fantastic.

Linebarrels of Iron - Huge surprise here. Namely because the protagonist starts out

as a deluded sociopath in a giant robot

which was a pleasant break from the average high school kid who happens to fall into cockpit.

Nebari No Ou - Supposedly a ninja anime for guys, but given the massive amounts of implied (or blatant) boys love, and the overall character design makes me doubt that. On it's own that wouldn't be a problem, but the soap opera conditions made it tough to deal with.

Negima! - Pretty standard harem material (well except for the sheer female cast size and the massive change in mood partway through). Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

Ouran High School Host Club - I know, it's a chickSk show, but the sarcastic narration and the amount of time spent lampooning genre cliches make it far more enjoyable than one would expect.

Sekerei - Fanservice overload. (Not as great as you might think.)

Slayers - Tons of fun.

Soul Eater - Takes the standard anime superpower fights and throws in some good character development as well as some cool stylistic twists. Good overall.

Spice and Wolf - I expected magical-girl-falls-into-protagonists-lap and instead was treated to extensive expositions on medieval trade. A very welcome surprise. Not to mention a far more fleshed out (ahem) character interactions that doesn't just involve the protagonist repeatedly falling into the cleavage of some love interest.

Suzuka - This was a mistake. Pretty much plays out like the Love and Relationships thread.

Tokyo Majin - Cool characters and some of the best fight sequences anywhere.

Vandread - Fanservice...IN SPACE! (Also underwhelming)

Cowboy Bebop - Duh.

In retrospect, I probably should have just shoved everything into Good/Bad categories. Too late to turn back now though.

[ST3MOCON]

Akira

[Explorer]

Here's two past topics about this, one minor...

Recommend me some Anime :D

...and the other more comprehensive.

Looking for some Anime.

Looking at the series which you actually enjoyed, I recommend you watch the original Ghost in the Shell, then Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex and Ghost in the Shell: Second Gig.

You could also watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which covers parts of the story which weren't incorporated into the original series.

You probably haven't seen Trigun: Badlands Rumble, a film released after the series ended, but occurring somewhere in the continuity of the series.

Lastly, you should watch Deathnote.

I base all these recommendations on our both having liked Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist and Last Exile, as well as our concurring on Blue Gender. I couldn't get into some of the things you liked, but hopefully your tastes in strong series is the same as mine.

----

One other series which I didn't think was as great as the ones I just named, but which was entertaining, is Samurai 7.

To give some perspective on that, I tend to either pick up DVDs when I see them for cheap used, or when I have seen them already and judged them to be excellent (in my opinion, of course, which is fair since it's my money). Samurai 7 is a series I picked up for a few bucks for the set, and I tried to watch it three times before I finally got far enough into it to watch it all the way through.

Happy viewing!

[toiletstand]

fullmetal alchemist brotherhood

[Bloody_Inferno]

It's understandable for you to lose interest in SDF Macross considering your healthy Gundam diet, but seriously give it another change. It's worth it. And after that, watch Macross Plus and (especially) Macross Frontier.

Speaking of Gundam diet, you should really watch Char's Counterattack and the Victory Gundam series. It's more mandatory than ZZ Gundam. Gundam Unicorn ain't bad either. And give Mobile Fighter G Gundam another change. It gets MUCH MUCH better. Also Turn A Gundam for something different from the series, the 00 movie also adds a unique twist. Wing and Seed/Destiny series both suck afterwards.

For others:

Rurouni Kenshin. One of my favorite anime series ever. Sure the 3rd arc got marred due to typical anime/manga schedule plagues. But that's what the manga is for.

Neon Genesis Evangelion. An obvious recommendation. This includes the new movies.

Gintama. An anime that pokes fun of every other anime in existence. Shonen Jump at it's best. Still going and hilariously awesome. Beats all other Shonen Jump series (Dragon Ball/Z, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach) by a long shot IMO. And they're great series too.

Gensomaden Saiyuki. The Monkey Magic series but retold in a very interesting way.

X. Great destiny/apocalypse series.

Sengoku Basara. From the makers of Devil May Cry comes a samurai themed series so extreme it doesn't take itself seriously.

Great Teacher Onizuka. Another one of my favorites, and some great humor to boot.

Patlabor series/movies. Very different from your usual giant robot anime, focuses a lot on the human drama aspect.

Wings Of Honneamise. A very engrossing and captivating movie. Another personal fave.

Vampire Princess Miyu. Dark and extremely depressing, but still great viewing.

Mushishi. See above, but a different premise altogether.

Too many for me to recommend, and it's been a while since I've sat down and viewed any anime extensively. Gotta go back to my sister's collection.

[Alberto7]

Originally Posted by Bloody_Inferno

Rurouni Kenshin. One of my favorite anime series ever. Sure the 3rd arc got marred due to typical anime/manga schedule plagues. But that's what the manga is for.

Neon Genesis Evangelion. An obvious recommendation. This includes the new movies.

Those two are some of my favorites ever. Rurouni Kenshin because character development is brilliant, and I like how they get actual historical facts, and put their own twists to them. Neon Genesis Evangelion because the concepts are absolutely mind-blowing, the art is incredible, and it's an all-around strong and solid series.

Another two I'd recommend are:

D. Gray-Man: Kind of a gothic-esque style to it, but character development is awesome, and it's a very intriguing storyline. Sadly, though, the anime is incomplete. But the manga carries on all the way until the end, so you can pick it up after you finish the anime if you're still interested.

Elfen Lied: It's a very "Chibi" sort of anime, and it's just adorable. Lots of sexual innuendoes, too, but it just makes it that much funnier. Don't let that fool you, though, it's a damn bloody and gory anime as well . They have some very intriguing concepts as well. The anime, however, is very short. It's only 13 episodes, if I remember correctly, and the entire story was kind of watered down due to financial constraints. There's also a manga to it, which I liked even better. The manga follows pretty much the same storyline as the anime, but has a different ending, and develops much further into the story, and all issues and themes are resolved.

Tales of The Abyss: It's off of the RPG videogame of the same name. It's interesting how they create their own sort of physics that works for that particular "universe," if you will. Very well done, and also very colorful.

[Bloody_Inferno]

Just realised that you requested dubs and not subs. In that case, that may kill Gintama completely... Cross that off the list.

Some more:

Tsubasa Chronicles. Don't let the Card Captors Sakura main character focus put you off, this is quite a well though out anime with a crossover bunch of Clamp's finest.

Appleseed movies. Cyberpunk based, either one of them, all are great.

Crying Freeman series. Still a fantastic series even by today's standards.

Also, are you specific in your anime genres, or any genre will do? I was gonna recommend Ranma 1/2 but it maybe a bit too fanservice/love the main character kind for you...

[MED]

I am mostly into the super twisted, mind bending anime stuff, but definitely check out

Seirei no Moribito: I think its ranked among the top anime ever made. Incredible art, characters, story.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Super mind f*ck, but really awesome nonetheless.

Genocyber: Not a super serious suggestion, but I have a soft spot for awesome 90's cell style anime. This is probably one of the most brutal, ridiculous animes ever.

For the most part anything that Gainax (Neon Genesis, FLCL, The Wings of Honneamise) or Bones (Cowboy Bebop, Wolfs Rain, RahXephon, FM Alchemist, Darker than Black) does is gold .

[Explorer]

Your post just reminded me of something else on my shelves:

Paranoia Agent.

[Fiction]

Elven Lied (not sure why, but whoever was in charge of drawing decided boobs were a must to be on show, but the actual story is pretty awesome.. naked chicks 'splodin heads.. a really cool storyline ),
Berzerker &
Ghost in the shell.

All Great Animes.

[Heavy Ed]

Claymore
Black Blood Brothers
Ghost in the Shell
Vampire Hunter D
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust
Akira
Starblazers
Robotech

and a bunch of others I can't think of right now

[ry_z]

Originally Posted by Bloody_Inferno

Patlabor series/movies. Very different from your usual giant robot anime, focuses a lot on the human drama aspect.

I liked this series a lot.


And as far as films, definitely check out Paprika. Absolutely incredible animation.

[Chickenhawk]

Just popped in to say:

Outlaw Star

[soliloquy]

similar to gundum:
evangellion
visions of escaflowne


something really out there, but beautiful and amazing all at once:
Avatar: the last air bender

[levijaymz]

Inuyasha.
As metioned before, Dragon Ball Z/Kai, Gt, Dragon Ball.

[soliloquy]

Originally Posted by Daemontheuncreated

Inuyasha.
As metioned before, Dragon Ball Z/Kai, Gt, Dragon Ball.

inuyasha was pretty cool too. love its dark atmosphere.

as for dragon ball...does that even need to be mentioned? shame on anyone who hasn't seen em! well...technically it would be 'shame on soliloquy' as i only saw bits and pieces of dragon ball, MOST of dragon ball z (stopped watching after majin bu), and hardly anything with GT

[Bloody_Inferno]

Don't bother with GT, should you go with the Dragon Ball path. Just stick to the original and Z.

Regarding Shonen Jump, also check out the Yu Yu Hakusho series.

And +1 to Inuyasha.

[-42-]

I've seen a few Ghost in the Shell episodes and I can't believe I forgot about that series.

I used to watch Inuyasha on Adult Swim and I'm not in the mood for 300+ episodes of belligerent sexual tension. As for Dragon Ball, I saw it in high school and left it at that. Avatar is a cool series, and is pretty grown up for a something rated TV Y7, but I lost interest in that series for one reason or another, may want to pick it back up. I watched the first few episodes of D-Gray Man and it didn't really strike a chord with me, namely because the character interaction was pretty limited.

As for what I like, I'm not picky as to the type of story (though I have my limits regarding absurdity). I'm more into character interaction and development than anything else.

[Skyblue]

I personally thought Kaiji was great.
Also Death Note,if you haven't seen it yet. Most of my other favorites are written already I'm afraid.

[Empryrean]

if you haven't already; theres a Darker than Black season II
These two have sequels coming out this winter..not that you would like em' just a suggestion though
Bakemonogatari
Kore Wa Zombie Desuka (I found this one hilarious )

unexpectedly, an anime I dodged because of the seemingly dumb name but is turning out pretty good is Mawaru Penguindrum, warning though; there are lots of penguins.

Hrm, what else.. Kami Nomi Zo Shiru Sekai is pretty funny too


Also I couldn't help but notice.
YOU DONT HAVE FOOLY COOLY ON YOUR LIST SIR. WATCH IT NOW

[MetalGravy]

Black Lagoon, Blue Submarine No. 6, Blassreiter (tho, a bit preachy at times).

[Chickenhawk]

Blue Sub 6

[All_¥our_Bass]

Shugo Chara

[soliloquy]

they aren't really animes, or movie/shows, but try youtubeing the entire metal gear solid series. they play as a movie, but with some incredible plots and its amazing how complex they can be.

[MFB]

Originally Posted by Bloody_Inferno

Don't bother with GT, should you go with the Dragon Ball path. Just stick to the original and Z.

Regarding Shonen Jump, also check out the Yu Yu Hakusho series.

And +1 to Inuyasha.

The only thing worth watching in GT was the last probably, 7 or so episodes when he's fighting the final Dragon. Just read the Wiki for how it leads up to that point since it is ....ing infuriating to watch/listen to, but that part was seriously awesome on it's own.

Not to mention, god damn the ending made me so sad