Manga/Anime Recommendations

[Wayu]

I'm a huge anime/manga fan. I've recently been low on series to read and watch, and I'm looking for recommendations from people who likewise enjoy these Japanese delights.

On that note, I've read and watched several series over the years, and I may be able to recommend some anime/manga as well.

Thanks in advance!

-Wayu

[Chukie sue]

Higurashi no naku koro ni - I heard the visual novel was much better than the anime though.

Baka to test to shokanjuu - anime

Bakuman - anime/manga (I read the manga, and it is awesome.) Ohba and Obata come back stronger than ever, even beating Bleach in Japan's Jump polls a month ish ago.

And Bobobobobobobo!

[Wayu]

I've read and watched the first 3. Not sure about the last.

-Wayu

[Palle]

Not much of a fan, my enthusiasm started to fade about 15 years back. There have been a few gems since then, and of course there are classics.

Manga:

Gunnm / Last Order / Ashen Victor
Akira / Domu
Appleseed / GITS / Dominion / Black Magic M-66 / Orion
Planetes

Anime:

Macross (if you can forgive the money crunch episodes)
Any of the Universal Century Gundams.
Galaxy Express 999
Urusei Yatsura / Maison Ikkoku / Ranma 1/2
Record of Lodoss War
El Hazard
Silent Mobius (original movie)
Jin-Roh
Last Exile

Ultimately, I'd say plumb the depths of the 80s and 90s back catalogue to find some pleasant surprises.

[Split]

Just read every Akira. Then read it again

[Sinue_v2]

The last anime I watched that really left an impression on me long after the series had finished was Le Chevalier D'Eon.



I heard it was made by the same people who worked on Ghost in the Shell, and if so - it shows. There is no end to the layers of political pretzel-knotting and betrayals taking place in the court of King Louis XV... and weather you understand the plot's twists the first time through, or need a second viewing to get all the details, it's an enjoyable experience. (Then again, that's just me. I liked how GitS didn't sacrifice storyline to laboriously explain it's mythos. It just thrust you into their world, and you picked up the jargon here and there as you followed along).

It's also somewhat difficult to pick which side of the story's conflict that you come down on... since the story is told from the point of view of the protagonists whom hold unyielding loyalty to France and King Louis, even whilst those around them begin setting the stage for the revolution. You can really feel the sense that these are the last days of Chivalry and Honor among the court of Versailles... the world. Yet, the American and French revolutions truly did usher in the new order of the ages... and their impact on the world has been the driving force behind everything from the American Dream to the Cold War against communism.

There's also one other small twist... D'Éon de Beaumont is not only a legendary fencer, a spy for the Secret du Roi (King Louis personal intelligence force), and diplomat in Empress Elizabeth's court... but he was also a transvestite. Apparently a good one too, since nobody seemed to have figured out just what he was until his autopsy. In the anime, this is played off as his sister's soul (Lia de Beaumont) possessing and using D'Eon's body as a vessel by which she at times entered so as to take her vengeance upon those who betrayed her.

If you can get past the fact that he's a transvestite, and aren't bothered too much by long talky bits called storyline being jammed between the fight scenes (in what's not always the smoothest transition or pacing)... then you might find a lot to like about it.

(Also, if you're anything like me when it comes to history, then let me warn you right now. Don't stress too much trying to reconcile Robespierre's character with the historical version. The series explains it all in the end, and it works... if a bit cheesy. I just wish I'd known earlier so I wouldn't have spent so much time arguing with the tv screen over just how badly and thoroughly it was fucking up every fact about the guy.)


I'm also in the middle of watching the English version of Black Lagoon, which seems alright so far. Voice acting makes Rock out to much more of a pussy than he is, and Revy's spite and rage filled rants don't have the impact of the original Japanese VA. It was too scripted most of the time, where it should have been organic... and too forced when it should have been more impulsive and explosive. It's like watching Tom Arnold trying to play a role that was defined by Al Pacino, ya know. It just doesn't work. Maybe that the way it is in the JP version too? I dunno. I'm not familiar enough with the language to pick up on it, so fuck it... sounds good to me at any rate. With the JP voices, it does get a little weird when they substitute English for Japanese for most of the show, but will speak English when they're supposed to be speaking Japanese or Chinese. Yeah, I know pretty much why they do that... but still, it comes across as odd at times. Revy's got a great slurred engrish accent though, so it's not all bad.

The series revolves around a small band of sometimes mercenaries/sometimes smugglers running freelance "delivery" for various mobs outfits (usually the Russian Mafia) and black market contacts in a seculded South China Sea port town that's pretty much the definition of "last stop before the end of the world". While the struggle between doing what's good and doing what's profitable, between what's right and what is in their best self interest, is usually played out by Rock and Revy's scenes due to their very different social backgrounds. Rock being a new addition to the crew who used to work as a professional ass-kisser in the corporate world of Japan; and Revy, being raised by the streets in the ghettos of New York and knowing only abuse and being shit on all her life by the society Rock still represents. The entire series as a whole, however, takes a very a-moral approach to it's story. No one person's perspective is really ever favored or insinuated as "the right path".... as each individuals perspective is different, and it's utility in solving their problems is determined largely by the necessity of the situation. Survival, it seems, is the only prime virtue that truly matters in Black Lagoon. So while one episode may involve the characters put in a bad situation, and deciding to take the more righteous path of risking their necks to defend loyal business partners and sacrificing for one another to scrape by strengthen friendships... the next episode may be all about their transporting innocent children to clients in the human trafficking market where they'd face an uncertain future which could be either slavery or held for ransom.

Overall, I think it's a great series filled with enough action to keep things flowing nicely, enough storyline and heavy subject matter to really engage the viewer, and the moral ambiguity to make you feel somewhat uncomfortable at times to know you're rooting for characters for whom professionalism trumps petty moralities. It's action was fun, if a bit campy at times, though not nearly as "over the top" as many animes get... and it's characters were more relateable than most shows... because they were all tragedies of the human condition. They were, like most people, an assortment of damaged goods and baggage who's weight they were looking to escape from under. Their flaws were as much a vital part of their character as their strengths, and there were no easy answers to be found or adopted by the others after a heartfelt pep-talk which puts everyone on the same page. There were just different perspectives and passions regarding the current given situation, the money at the center of it all, and ultimately... doing what it takes to survive another day.



Well, at any rate it beats sugar-sprinkled magical girls, shameless harem fan service parades, super giant transforming robot space pilot dramas, and any show where the solution to every problem and adversity you'll ever face in life lies in realizing that you're just not strong enough to protect everyone... and that you must "become stronger" somehow. Yeah, you know... really, shit beyond our control doesn't just happen to people, and there's no such things as having limits and innate weakness or failing that can't be overcome. All you have to do is just grunt loud and rage hard enough that your super-secret unknown power levels become unleashed to levels over 9000! It seems like that canard is almost inescapable in anime games and shows now.... and it's always as cheesy and silly the previous attempts. It's like they just discovered the Rocky Balboa movies over there in the last several years or something. So it's nice to catch a break with something that at least looks like it has some kind of relevance to the reality I know and live in, populated by characters that are more than just two dimensional cliches with a face, an embarrassing haircut, and a bad voice actor.

I wish there were more shows like GitS, D'Eon, B. Lagoon, C. Bebop, large portions of GunGrave before it turned to crap, then awesome again right before it ended. If you know of anything newer that's like what I've mentioned, let me know and I'll check them out.

[darkante]

Excel Saga - Funny, hard to describe why i like it. I can see it over and over for no good reason lol.




Kamen no Maid guy - Stupid and some pervertion, i love it.

[bns1991]

Naruto

[BIG OLAF]

Meh, I've always hated anime. But, my friend recently suggested I watch Durarara!!. I respectfully declined, of course, but maybe someone here could get some use out of watching it.

[Outrider]

Watch something from Miyazaki.

It's hard to recommend a favorite, but I'd probably recommend starting with Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service or Princess Mononoke. The later movies are way trippier, so it might be a little harder to get into them.

They're all excellent, though.