Recommend me some Anime

[hudson]

Looking to watch some decent anime. Me and the girlfriend enjoyed watching The Girl Who Leapt Through Time recently and decided we should watch some more anime stuff. However we are noobs. We've watch things like Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Vampire Hunter D, but we find that quite a few bore us after about 15-20 mins due to being simply boring or difficult to understand. Akira was good, but I'm not sure what it was about lol. Ghost in the Shell was decent if I remember correctly. Vampire Hunter D was a let down especially after I bought it for her thinking it'll be like an animated Buffy. My bad

We tend to like the Ghibli stuff, but are looking to broaden our viewing outside of the Ghibli animations and hopefully get some decent gripping, but not too confusing stories to follow.

A friend in work recommended things like Bleach, Naruto Shippuuden, Full Metal Alchemist, Soul Eater and Chrome Shelled Regios... what you think, got any recommendations?

Cheers

[Cauterize]

Chrno Crusade!

[SuperDanX]

I know very little about anime but i highly recommend Golgo 13 the professional, an anime about a ice cool hitman its kicks alot of ass! Your girl may not like it though as the representation of woman is dubious to say the least.

[hudson]

Chrno Crusade!

So, what's it about, fella?

[Bort]

Episodic.

FLCL, six part mini series. Excellent.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, if you fancy some more GITS. Two series, 52 eps.

Cowboy Bebop.

Films.

Ninja Scroll. (avoid the tv series unless you really like the film)

Wings of Honnamese. I really like it but if others bored you then it might be a miss.

Perfect Blue. Might not be good GF material.

[abigsmurf]

Your friend is certainly into his shonen...

Euch, Bleach... Such awful writing... I'd say avoid, despite its popularity

Watch Naruto before Naruto Shippuden if you're going to watch it. Be prepared for it wasting a lot of time (overly long explanation of powers, people standing around talking in the middle of fights, the usual stuff). This is a series several hundred eps long and still going.

FMA is a good recommendation, good action series with an interesting plot and it isn't afraid to be brutal at times.

Ghost in the Shell stand alone complex is like the movie but with less philosophy and more action and humour.

Check out Hellsing Ultimate (OVAs, not the inferior TV series). Probably the coolest anime around. It's much better than Vampire Hunter D. Hellsing also makes for my first cease and decist notice from me posting the live action trailer on youtube.

I've got to recommend Neon Genesis Evangelion, the most influential mecha series of 90's. It's a bit dated now but it's a pretty deep show. The movies Death and Rebirth are also incredibly "wtf" worthy. The series is currently being remade in movie form under the name "Evangelion Rebirth" but after the first movie, the plot will differ from the TV series and it'll go in a different direction.

Check out Gunbuster which is another classic mecha anime with a brilliant finale and its sequel Diebuster.

Haibane Renmei is a horribly under-rated series that needs more love.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a brilliant show that's well worth watching. Probably the best school comedy series around. Azumanga Daioh is another good school comedy although that goes purely for laughs.

You can find many quality anime news and reviews by visiting the bestest site in the universe http://www.ukanime.com ! It's totally awesome!

[Phar]

Not really into anime that much but from the stuff I've seen Initial D is by far my favourite, great story and characters. I like the fact that for the most part it's actually based in reality, illegal racing, car modding etc, not sure if your girlfriend would be into that sort of thing though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initial_D

[rossman]

how about working through satoshi kons back catalogue

paprika
paranoia agent
milenium actress
tokyo godfathers
perfect blue

oh and a second vote for wings of honneamise

oh, again - I've always wanted to see it, as i've heard it's great - 'night on the galactic railroad' - could be worth a look...

[SharkSkin-Man]

oh and a second vote for wings of honneamise

And a 3rd, it's amazing.

[rossman]

i saw it on tv years ago and never really forgot it. Years later I was speaking to someone about it (although couldn't remember the name) and he was so pleased that I knew and loved it, that he gave me his copy on dvd. Suffice to say it didn't let me down all those years later.

And a 3rd, it's amazing.

[Gruce]

You should watch The Castle of Cagliostro, it's a Ghibli but different to most the others I have seen, real funky.

[Adam]

Some 'noob' friendly animes I'd reccomend to a couple:

Azumanga Daioh - Azumanga Daioh chronicles everyday life in an unnamed Japanese high school in Tokyo, following the trials and triumphs of six girls. Stupidly funny.

Cowboy Bebop - Space cowboys! Great animation, strong music influences.

Death Note - Guy finds a notebook, when you write someones name in it, they die! Follows Yagama Light and his actions with the Notebook and in the end gets caught up in a massive police investigation. One of the most gripping animes I've seen.

Eureka 7 - The series centers around Renton Thurston, the fourteen-year-old son of Adroc Thurston, a military researcher who died saving the world. He lives what he considers a boring life with his grandfather in a boring town. He loves lifting, a sport similar to surfing but with trapar, a substance abundant throughout the air, as the medium. He dreams of joining the renegade group Gekkostate, led by his idol Holland, a legendary lifter.

Natsume Yuujinchou / Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou - Very light hearted, enjoyable show. Every episode will make you smile. Follows Natsume, a guy who can see spirits and how he helps them.

Nodame Cantabile / Nodame Cantabile Paris-Hen - Musicle anime.

One Piece (maybe too long though, 390+ eps) - My favourite series so I have to reccomend it, but like I said maybe too much for now. Pirates Vs Goverment.

Spice and Wolf - A trader and a god in human form travel from place to place doing business.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - OTT mecha anime. Lots of fun.

You'd be surprised how many people get into anime here because of shows like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. They're some of the first anime I saw too but there's so much choice available today, they don't stand out for me any more. Seeing as we're all naming different shows I'd prolly also throw in a reccomendation for Full Metal Alchemist and Evangelion

[gordon]

I'd second many of the recommendations above and add my own: Monster. It's 73 episodes long, very grown up, with brilliant characters. The first few episodes are a bit slow, but after that it just gets better and better.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3750

[hudson]

Thanks fellas. I'll give some a hunting down. Wings of Honnamese gets a few good shouts. Where's the best place to look, ebay?

[Zapp$ter]

First post in our big fansub anime thread has some useful info and recommendations, although it's not been updated in a long time.