Anime fans, can you help out a needy soul? Please?

[Cougar]

Ok, now that my begging is done here's what I need: suggestions for good Anime. I haven't seen much, but here's what I've seen so far:

Vampire Hunter D
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Akira
Princess Mononoke
Ghost in the Shell
Metropolis

Now that my HUGE list is out of the way lemme tell you what kind of Anime I like. I really liked both Vampire Hunter D's becuase it was more "adult" themed in both the drawing and the story. Metropolis was pretty cool but I just couldn't get past the fact that the artist drew everyone "pudgy" (like Wimpy on Popeye) and it seemed to have to much CGI...me likes it to look like a cartoon (it did have a good story though).

I guess if I had to make a checklist it would go like this:

I'm a sucker for the "lone man/woman trying to save the world/universe" scenarios
Some good wholesome violence
People actually looking like people and not short, round, gnomes (look at Metropolis and you'll know what I'm talking about)
Something that's geared more towards Adults (meaning that I don't want the movie to be about a 10 year old boy looking for his one true love)
Or to make it simple: basically all the stuff that was in Vampire Hunter D

Now I'm sure that the Anime purists are going to tear me a new one because all those movies "suck", but keep this in mind: I only have my local blockbuster and various video stores to rent from so my selection is limited. I can't afford to buy/import every movie in existence. I could maybe buy a few movies and that's about it.

So what's the verdict? Can someone out help this poor fool to get his hands on some good anime (or at least anime that I'd like)?

 

[Stiler]

3x3 eyes is a pretty good one, lots o gore. I must say though vampire hunter d's were by far my favorite anime's.

 

[StevenYoo]

here's where I step in. *steps in*

ahem.

Berserk is freaking awesome. it's finally out in Japan on DVD, so you can find the divx rips on IRC. there are 25 eps. it ends quite abruptly b/c the story continues with the manga. I've been looking EVERYWHERE for translated manga scans. if ANYONE has them please PM me.

Berserk is chock full of violence and swords and killing and stuff. the main character, Gatsu, is the MAN! he's just plain old bad-ass and stuff. you can't go wrong with this.

If you REALLY like violence, you might as well check out the Fist of the North Star movie. It's really old, but REALLY violent. 'nuff said.

Watch Trigun too. It's an amazing series. it's super funny in the beginning and then goes 180 deg and gets really serious at the end. a definite must-see series.

i STILL haven't seen all of Cowboy Bebop, but that's good stuff too.

if you like comedy, and just comedy, check out Love Hina. it's a VERY funny romantic comedy series. It's recently been licensed i think, so keep an eye out for the DVD's. You can always get this on IRC too.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

2 words: Cowboy Bebop (It's on Cartoon network's Adult Swim sometimes, or you can rent it. )

 

[pyonir]

i don't have any anime. wish i could help.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

Cowboy Bebop
Trigun
FLCL (Acronym for something I forgot how to spell.. not too action based though)

And.. Evangelion is an awesome series that rivals just about any live action show I've ever seen. NGE is something most any anime fan oughta take a look at.

 

[nihil]

definetely cowboy bebop. and ghost in the shell, like you said. those are both very good.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

FLCL (Furi Kuri) is off the hook wacky.

Key: The Metal Idol is a good suspense/sci fi series that's 3 disks (that are about 3Hrs ea)

Record of Lodoss War is a good fantasy series that has a 2 disk OVA box set (13 eps)

Perfect Blue is on the same level as Silence of the Lambs (one disk movie)

Although I haven't seen it yet, I hear Spriggan is quite good.

If you can find it, watch Hellsing. There's alot of gunplay and vampirism w/ a pretty dark plot. Definately not a feel-good series.

If you just wanna laugh while some action is going down, try Gunsmith Cats.

 

[yakko]

LA Blue Girl.

 

[Cougar]

I'll keep an eye out for Cowboy Bebop on Cartoon Network. It would be cool to be able to watch some of this stuff on a regular basis.

I'll see if I can track down Berserk somewhere as well as 3x3 eyes, Trigun and Fist of the North Star.


MistaTastyCakes....

I'm assuming NGE is the same thing as Evangelion, correct?


Also, what is Manga? Does it refer to Japanese comic books?


Thanks for the suggestions guys and keep em comin!

 

[Santte]

One classic (ok, maybe not "real" anime):
Robotech

 

[shurato]

You'll like Ninja Scroll if you like mature themed anime. No I don't mean hentai, but along the likes of vampire hunter D and etc. Record of Lodoss War is probably one of my favorite anime series of all time along with Neon Genesis Evangelion.

[edit]
oops how could i forget Cowboy Bebop....

 

[poopaskoopa]

If you like Princess Mononoke, run a search on other movies by Hayao Miyazaki.

 

[Cougar]

<< FLCL (Furi Kuri) is off the hook wacky.

Key: The Metal Idol is a good suspense/sci fi series that's 3 disks (that are about 3Hrs ea)

Record of Lodoss War is a good fantasy series that has a 2 disk OVA box set (13 eps)

Perfect Blue is on the same level as Silence of the Lambs (one disk movie)

Although I haven't seen it yet, I hear Spriggan is quite good.

If you can find it, watch Hellsing. There's alot of gunplay and vampirism w/ a pretty dark plot. Definately not a feel-good series.

If you just wanna laugh while some action is going down, try Gunsmith Cats. >>




oooo....lots of suggestions, thank you

My local blockbuster actually has Spriggan, but the blasted thing was out last time I went. Judging by the box it looks really cool.

How easy is it to track down those other series you mentioned here in the states? I have never seen any of those sets in my local video stores, so if they're really good then my only alternative would be to actually buy them (this is a last resort 'cause I'm a cheap mofo). Also, are they dubbed over into english (me don't understand Japanese)?

Edit

I have to step away from my computer and venture into the real world for a little while :Q but please keep sending in your suggestions. I'm in the mood for some good Anime and I'm going to have to start a city-wide search to track down some of these titles.

 

[Adul]

you can also look for some ummm

preview version of some anime shows.

www.sputnik7.com has some in their anime section. some of them are pretty good, I assume youhave broadband of course.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

3X3 Eyes is great! Especially now that they released it on DVD, and decided to throw in what they left out of the VHS version years ago.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Check out www.animeondvd.com for a great reviews section.

Along with Bebop, Trigun, and Fist of the North Star I recommend:
A Wind Named Amnesia (movie)
Bubblegum Crisis -or- Bubblegum Crisis 2040 (very good remake)
Black Heaven (a heavy metal music scifi comedy-drama for grownups)

And BTW netflix has a decent amount of anime to rent, you could sign up for their cheapest plan.

 

[vash]

I'm a big fan of Trigun (shocking, no?) and Cowboy Bebop. If there was one of the two to check between those, go for Bebop -- I know many more people enjoy that over Trigun.

vash

 

[StevenYoo]

<< Although I haven't seen it yet, I hear Spriggan is quite good.
>>



UGH, i couldn't STAND spriggan. that movie had to be the biggest piece of dreck i've ever seen. What's even worse was that I saw the english-dubbed version. the english voice acting WAS HORRIBLE (as usual).
Such a cliche plot with your run-of-the-mill cliche hero dude. It's entertaining at points, but overall I found it quite lacking.



<< If you can find it, watch Hellsing. There's alot of gunplay and vampirism w/ a pretty dark plot. Definately not a feel-good series. >>



Hellsing! that's the other series i was thinking of!! THis also recently got licensed, so look out for DVD's at blockbuster in the future. This series is really cool and dark and stuff. I recommend this one highly

 

[Cougar]

Adul...

Thanks for the link. Unfortuanately they said that their windows media server caught fire so I'll have to come back at a later time. Fess up, which one of you flooded their server and locked me out?! Don't you understand that I'm feenin' for Anime?!?!

DaveSimmons...

Thanks for your link too. I bookmarked the site. I'm going to be a poor, poor man if the only way to actually watch any movies is to start buying them (someone needs to start an Anime video store so I won't be stuck with only a handful of titles).

Which leads me to a question...what is the correct pronounciation of the word (I don't want to sound like a fool when I start calling around looking for this stuff)? Is it anne-eye-m or anne-eh-may? I know those are goofy spellings, but it's hard to sound out words with only text Also, what does OVA stand for? I keep seeing it used for certain series, but I have no idea what it means.

 

[Silex]

There are 2 major sources hat just can't be beat when loooking for anime. They are IRC (www.mirc.com) and StreamLoad (www.streamload.com). It seems liek everybody suggested pretty much licensed anime, which is fine in my book, but sometimes that just doesn't satisfy you not my tastes for the newest and greatest things. Guess here's my contribution to this thread in no particular order.

1. Vandread 1st and 2nd Season (1st Season was better IMO)
2. Scryed (all 26 eps subbed by various fansubbers; HQ by #anime-network @ irc.sandnet.net [they keep moving])
3. Onegai Teacher (all subbed by #anime-keep @ ETG)
4. Chobits (currently up to episode 4; subbed by #anime-haven @ ETG)
5. Tokyo Underground (up to ep 4 by #elite-fansubs @ ETG)
6. Full Metal Panic (up to 16 by #anime-keep @ ETG [this series is licensed now, but a "mysterious" has taken up the project since ep 16])
7. Love Hina
8. Ah! My Goddess
9. Mahoromatic
10. Inu Yasha
11. .hack//sign (up to episode 3; subbed by #elite-fansubs @ ETG)
12. Noir
13. Photon
14. Rurouni Kenshin
15. Serial Experiments Lain
16. Vision of Escaflowne

Man I feel bad for suggesting stuff that aren't licensed totally. Well FMP is by ADV, but you know how long it takes before these things are released =P. This list should get yu on to a good start. Plus most of the others that these other peeps stated. All good choices guys!

 

[DaveSimmons]

<< Thanks for your link too. I bookmarked the site. I'm going to be a poor, poor man if the only way to actually watch any movies is to start buying them (someone needs to start an Anime video store so I won't be stuck with only a handful of titles). >>

www.netflix.com -- for $22/month you can see 5-8 anime DVDs without going any farther than your mailbox. The DVDs arrive in prepaid return mailers so once watched you just drop it back in the mail (no stamps needed). It's also a good place for cool Hong Kong action movies (John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat, Jet Li etc.)

 

[dc]

5. Tokyo Underground (up to ep 4 by #elite-fansubs @ ETG)

done by #anime-empire @ ETG, not elite-fansubs.
#anime-empire is also one of the few groups that did onegai teacher

also, vandread second stage was licensed over the weekend.



Which leads me to a question...what is the correct pronounciation of the word (I don't want to sound like a fool when I start calling around looking for this stuff)? Is it anne-eye-m or anne-eh-may? I know those are goofy spellings, but it's hard to sound out words with only text Also, what does OVA stand for? I keep seeing it used for certain series, but I have no idea what it means.

ani as in animation, me = may
ova = original video animation (released directly/first to vhs/dvd/etc, not tv)
oav = original animated video, same thing as ova



Santte, yes robotech is not real anime, it is a bastardized, dubbed, edited, hacked and cut up menage of macross (woohoo! minmei's song! ), southern cross, and mospeada. not to mention harmony gold, which created robotech is one sucktacular company and treats fans like crap.

hehe, fear my rabid otakuness.



and for the original poster, i have no recommendations for you, as my preference is usually cute and/or crazy anime. hehe. pita-ten, galaxy angel, galaxy angel 2, digi charat, sugar, etc etc.

 

[dc]

oh yeah, forgot my trademark "dubs are suck" comment

DUBS ARE SUCK

 

[shurato]

<< Check out www.animeondvd.com for a great reviews section.

Along with Bebop, Trigun, and Fist of the North Star I recommend:
A Wind Named Amnesia (movie)
Bubblegum Crisis -or- Bubblegum Crisis 2040 (very good remake)
Black Heaven (a heavy metal music scifi comedy-drama for grownups)

And BTW netflix has a decent amount of anime to rent, you could sign up for their cheapest plan. >>



Ugh avoid A wind Named Amnesia...snooze fest! SNOOZE FEST!