So you're going to read things I never said?

1, Lain is good, but even if we ignore that its the best recommendation out there for someone who liked Boogiepop and Paranoia Agent. 2, Satoshi Kon has a lot of good movies, Perfect Blue would also be a good recommendation for someone who liked Paranoia Agent and was also the one I thought of first. 3, I never got passed the first few episodes of Madlax, I got to it after El Cazador de la Bruja and Noir and was rather tired of the formula by then, but its definitely a good rec for someone who liked Noir. 4, your recs read like a fanboy's, at best they don't match what PhilosophicalFrog was looking for...

I know what you were going for, but to be fair, he didn't exactly say he wanted more like the ones he listed, he was just asking for open recommendations with the only stipulation being he wanted a few things that are available on Netflix.

And Lain isn't really good at all. It has some interesting plot devices and a great opening theme, but it's hard to enjoy because the characters are as dull and flat as cardboard, the pacing is abysmal, the art and animation are ugly, and there's just no reason at all to care about anything that goes on. It may have been significant to the anime industry in the psychological thriller genre, but on its own, it falls far short of other, better thrillers. Like Boogiepop Phantom and Paranoia Agent.

As for shows like Noir, Madlax may indeed be similar...but it sucks. Pretty hard. I'd go with something like Requiem for the Phantom, instead. It's like Noir if Noir made sense, had decent pacing, sympathetic characters, and less filler. It also helps that Bee Train, the same studio behind Noir is behind it, and the themes by KOKIA ("Karma" and "Transparent") are phenomenal.

EDIT: Also, props for Berserk. Even though the manga is, indeed, superior, I still will always have a spot in my heart for the anime.

I'm working on getting my hands on the anime right now. Exactly how great is the quality difference between it and the manga anyway?

I thought the opposite, neither Boogiepop or Paranoia Agent impressed me, Lain has every of the 3-4 times I have seen it. And I wouldn't say its a thriller, its more cyberpunk/philosophical and perhaps a bit different then the other two. Though you can clearly see how they were both influenced by it. As for the Bee Train girls with guns shows, the only one I actually liked was El Cazador de la Bruja...

@ The Old One, they're incomparable, the only thing the anime has going for it is voice acting and being animated. It also skips a lot of the best parts and even ends before the story really progresses. Though its very easy to like the anime if you don't know how much better it could be.

Rebuild is nowhere in the same league as the original series and EoE in my opinion. TV/EoE had a very choking atmosphere, a real bleak hopelessness at the heart of everything. I find the characters in Rebuild to be shallow cut outs of themselves and the character development, when put alongside TV/EoE, is a joke so far. The Angel battles are definitely a spectacle though. Not as interesting as the original in my eyes, though I really shouldn't compare either side by side.

Now as for Lain I have to agree the characters really are pretty drab and dull aside from Lain herself, who I found to be pretty tragic in her own way. But I think the concept and execution makes up for that. Boogiepop really doesn't cut it for me. By the last episode it had lost me completely. I hear the source material is much better, I should probably look into that.

Onwards and upwards, I suppose. Just finished Kino's Journey the other week and I have to say it's really blown every other anime I've seen so far out of the water. As close to perfection you're going to get this side of Bebop in my eyes. Also don't know if any of you play VNs, but right now I'm playing through the Muv Luv series. Extra was a total chore to get through, really dreadful stuff. But after finishing Ultimate and starting Alternative this morning, I can definitely see this series going places. Ultimate was awesome, and Alternative so far is looking even better.

I agree 100%; the soundtrack is the only thing worth a dram on that whole series. They follow the manga until about six episodes into the second season before completely derailing into filler madness, but even early on, a lot of the pacing was really odd and felt like they were really stretching the stuff (thought I don't know why). The movie was atrocious and completely forgettable. It's a shame, too, because Tsubasa was one of CLAMP's better works, even if the ending did get kind of bonkers.

Lain: I remember seeing it because I seemed to read around that it was a great series. It was definitely different, and I don't think I picked up everything that it was trying to tell me. I think the biggest problem in watching it now is that it was a kind of surreal mind-trip that dealt with the mid 90's mysteriousness of the internet. Now it just seems oddly out-of-date. Worth a look if you're in for that sort of thing.

Kino's Journey: Great stuff. Heavy on the psychological but still is really accessible. Don't expect any heroics though. Kino is the kind of person that would look at a situation, say "yup, that's jacked up," and then drive away.

As for newer psychological anime stuff, I don't know what to tell you. Lately, if anything strives for that particular brand of creepy/disturbing, they seem to sacrifice subtlety for excessive violence (Deadman Wonderland, Rainbow, etc. Not that I've seen them). Maybe Steins;Gate?

I hated Lain, but Texhnolyze was awesome. Same director. It's like Gungrave/Ergo Proxy but way more fucked up and violent.

I'm rewatching Rahxephon after 8 some years and it's held up really well.

I've heard good things about Texhnolyze, but I've never seen it. And I got started watching RahXephon recently. Seems decent enough.

None of the other characters really mattered though, they were just extras.



I was thinking of mentioning Kino no Tabi earlier, but for some reason didn't, great series and that sums up Kino perfectly.



Texhnolyze was interesting, not really overly violent or fucked up (Read Blade of the Immortal or the Retribution Arc of Berserk), rather slow paced, surprisingly subtle and started to drag in the later episodes. Towards the end I cared as much as the people on the surface. And I don't really see the Gungrave or Ergo Proxy comparisons, the former was more action packed, somewhat like Black Lagoon and Trigun. The latter was one of the worst/dullest anime I ever sat through, only topped by Sword for Truth and Angel Sanctuary...

Also, Trigun fans should check out the Peacemaker manga and perhaps even the Trigun manga as its rather different then the anime. And anyone ever see The Five Star Stories? Its a rather promising and epic space opera, sadly unfinished though. Someone really needs to translate the manga.

Edit:



Since when has Deadman Wonderland been creepy or disturbing? Or even violent? Its tame shonen centered around a sappy teenage romantic tragedy. I read a large chunk of the manga over a few slow days, wasn't worth it...

Pretty big. Dude, the anime was ok in certain parts like a couple battles. It was cool to see the strategy play out without reading it in dead silence, but the ending to the show is god awful. They basically give a cop out that isn't explained to the audience in anyway. The manga actually has the whole thing laid out and far more complete than the anime. Watching the anime is basically a waste of time if one's going to read the manga.

Both Texhnolyze and Gungrave had a lot to do with prosthetics and some other term that escapes my mind at the moment, lots of action and gang war territory stuff going on. Obviously yes Gungrave is more comparable to Black Lagoon and Trigun, but I think there's some loose comparisons there with Texhnolyze.

The majority of FSS is licensed and was released, I think the 13th volume came out in 2006 but I think only up 11 has been translated. It's been running since 1986, so maybe the guy got lazy and is done with it. I'm looking forward to Nagano's Gothicmade project. If it ever happens.

The FSS OVA was pretty cool, but just a teaser much like the Alita OVA.


Good, hope you enjoy both. I prefer human vs human conflict with my mecha, more military and politics over fantasy... like Votoms, Dougram, Zeta Gundam, etc, but I think Rahxephon is one of the weirder ones that does it right. EDIT: Are you watching in Japanese too? If so... the VA who plays Ayato's mother (weirdest voice I've ever heard) is also the composer, and she sings the ED's. Creepy as hell how that all connects, and she's done like nothing else. Weiiiiiiiirrrd.

Sure is serious business in this thread, maybe you guys should chill a bit.

CHILL OUT

I dislike anime, but I remember watching and enjoying One Piece in the past.
Really, really enjoying One Piece.

I dunno how I missed that, I was googling my ass off looking for an english version not too long ago.

So this is turning into a "my tastes > your tastes" thread... It's like I'm back at 4chan's /a/ board again.

Anyway... I just watched Makoto Shinkai's latest movie. And I must say he pulls the "Ghibli copycat" off quite well. And he keeps the cloudporn so the movie can be unmistakably recognized as his work despite the similarities with Miyazaki's creations.

On an unrelated note, I've yet to watch the latest episode of Mirai Nikki, but I'm starting to worry that it may have to deviate from the manga. There's only four episodes left (counting the already released eighth episode, which as previously stated I haven't watched), and they've barely covered half of the manga, having killed only four of the twelve diary owners.

EDIT: Disregard the above. Mirai Nikki is 26 episodes long, and for some reason I thought it was only 12.

Working my way through Darker than black s1 in english subs, its pretty good though I hope they go into detail about who the main characters are, their backgrounds etc.

Also, episode 12 was a big barrel of WTF.

They sort of do and sort of don't. You won't get much info until the last episodes of the first season.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com.au/news ... o-bd-boxes

>US$369.98

Oh my..

True. Also, if you decide to venture further into the series (nothing of value will be lost if you don't, though), remember to watch the OVAs before the second season. Otherwise you'll be even more confused. Yes, that implies that you'll be confused even if you watch everything in the correct order, doing it in the wrong order just adds to the confusion. The OVAs are pretty good, BTW, and the only problem the second season really has is the same one that already affected the first one: the way it ends. I shall not give any spoilers, just brace for impact. Honestly, I'm eagerly waiting for a third season just to see how they deal with something as retarded as THAT.

Well, I'm off to watch that eighth episode of Mirai Nikki now... Later, people.

@kiske: that is nothing, the Nichijou BDs were even more ridiculously expensive. The whole boxset was like eight thousand yen, which amounts to slightly over 1300 dollars.

Thanks for the tips about S2 guys, I was going to skip it but then I remembered this,



So I guess I'll humor you and see just how bad it actually is.

I also just got the Berserk anime and will probably start on that after I finish DTB and Code Geass S1, and currently in the pipeline is both seasons of Sekirei in uncensored eng subs. The torrent is however a daunting 8.61 GB so it could be awhile before I'm able to watch it , high quality though.

EDIT: Well we can't all have superb internet connections and unlimited bandwidth you know, downloading LOGH or a series of a similar size isn't really an option for me.

That's a daunting torrent for you? lol... time for a 2TB external my friend.

Many people have said that they felt the Akira movie to be a very convoluted movie that tries to cram an entire manga series in 125 minutes, but I must seriously disagree with this. I have both seen the movie and read the manga, and I'm probably the only one that actually prefers the film over the manga. Sure they cut out huge portions of side stories and plot points for the film, but they still kept the overall aesthetics and themes of the manga. Also, despite the fact that both the film and the manga are over-the-top science-fiction, I can't help but feel that the outrageous epic story reached incredible heights in the manga to the point that I had a hard time believing the story that was presented to me. The movie, though it too was ridiculous, was still kept in a reasonable area, and I had an easier time buying the story.

I'm not exactly sure about it being a travesty though. It is hard to understand the story at first because there's so many characters and there's so many things going, and those blue, wrinkly children speaking in incomplete sentences definitely did not help matters, but I assure you the movie does in fact have a story, and it's a damn good one.

Yeah, you caught me. I have to admit that I haven't read or watched Deadman Wonderland. However, based on ANNs seasonal anime guide, it came across as kids being abducted in play in bloodsports, like Gantz, but on a lesser level. Or so I'm assuming; I haven't read Gantz. It's not like I can't stand "mature" stories, I just have a low tolerance for grimdark overkill. I'm following Berserk, Vagabond, and 20th Century Boys (thanks to my awesome local library), and that's enough.

Hah, Funny that you should mention Gantz. As the last few days I have been reading the series non stop. I've just caught up. (I don't talk with other manga fans, so I find a lot at random. This seemingly popular one as well just the other week). But I agree with ya. I'm also not a fan of violence for violence's sake.

Yeah, its definitely not like Gantz. Shonen manga often have one premise and end up doing something completely different, honestly I don't remember the beginning too well, wasn't very memorable...

And 20th century boys is good, one of the best mangas I have read.

@slag, Gantz is violence for violence sake, pretty enjoyable for what it is though. I caught up a while ago and have been taking a break for more chapters to be made. Reading chapter to chapter sucks...

Edit: Anyone looking for a good samurai tale with rather unique art should try Takemitsu-Zamurai, just don't expect it to be action packed.

Maybe failsafe will see this since he's a Hunter x Hunter nuthugger, but they finally ended that Chimera arc bullshit (went on for 8 years with all the hiatus' according to my friend, it was over 100 chapters or something), and it's gotten really good again lately. Like, awesomely "Oh wow this is Hunter x Hunter again!" good. That Chimera arc was fucking horrible, felt like filler... within a manga, and unfortunately it makes up a 3rd of the series when it accomplished nothing and ended up pushing all the main characters aside for crappy new ones. Seriously, this new material is like it never even happened.

Also the remake anime has been pretty good so far. They really could have done better with the composer though, the music is not that standout at all...

Always hear great things about 20th Century Boys, most of my friends that have read it usually go to say it's even better than Monster which blows me away. I keep waiting for an anime adaptation (much more of a watcher myself), but ... I've been waiting for years, lol. I'll probably crack someday.

I like both series myself, dunno which is better, probably a matter of taste. And I don't think I'd enjoy watching it, too many cliffhangers, reading is faster...

And yes, the new HxH has been rather good, but the change just happened, I'd give it a few more chapters to see where its going.

That explains the sensation of deja-vu I had: Darker than Black had already been discussed and I had already praised the excellent second season.

Oh well, I just finished watching "The Sky Crawlers". Other than some fugly character designs, it's been okay, I guess, specially in the visual department, and particularly the dogfights and flight scenes. I'm still confused at the main character's last line, though.

Yeah, and I was the one that listened first. Ho boy even after explaining it to me I keep forgetting what was up with that second season ending. Good show, loved most of the characters, but confusing.

BTW TheOldOne, it gets a little Sailor Moon-ish at times in the second season (regarding a certain main character).

Call me nostalgic, but almost nothing in the last decade can hold my attention anymore (anime only, not manga). It seems like the animation is getting worse and worse and, possibly because of whatever fashions in Japan, the male leads are turning into effeminate jokes. I literally haven't enjoyed an anime since Gurren Lagann, with the exception of Redline which was the epitome of beautiful, beautiful eye candy. I'm currently giving Mirai Nikki a try, though since I liked the manga.
I guess I'm sort of waiting for whatever the next in-thing is for anime, which will hopefully involve less androgynous protagonists and less am I kawaii uguu~ women.

I'd recommend Black Lagoon, Tiger & Bunny, Steins;Gate, and Usagi Drop. They're all well-animated, very recent, and avoid the androgynous-male-lead fad that's been prevalent for the past 20 years.

As a side note, androgynous male characters aren't a new thing, really. His and Her Circumstance slammed that character archetype hard, and that was 12 years ago.

Ha, I totally forgot about Black Lagoon, which is a great show, haven't seen the rest but I'll look into them.

As for His And Her Circumstances, that's a shoujo, IIRC. Androgynous males have always been big in them, but then, it's a genre aimed at young women.

Well, a shoujo anime made by the director of Neon Genesis Evangelion, anyway.

But the totally femmy-looking dude wasn't the main character; it was Hideaki Asaba, and the show actively makes fun of him (and how!). The male lead, Soichiro, is quite obviously male.

I'm otaku. This year I watched 81 titles. Favourite is Meguca Meduka (very like anime about magical girls ^_^, but this one is dark and creepy ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼).

The fuck is this? Are you talking about (Mahou Shoujo) Madoka Magica? There's much better out there. And "otaku" is not a flattering word to refer to yourself as. In Japan, it's the equivalent of "shut-in," "nerdy mama's boy," or "basement dweller."

Also, 81 titles? Maybe calling yourself an "otaku" wasn't too far off the mark, since that would require some determined basement dwelling. I've watched more anime this year than any other year of my life, and I've watched...20, maybe 25 shows max, not including movies? And here I thought I had no life.

Alright, I just finished Dtb S1 and finally noticed that I had downloaded what appears to be a fansub version. The ending wasn't to bad but after the credits finished I was "treated" to what looked like an add for another anime series, of course being in japanese the trailer didn't tell me what it was about but five minuets later I ran back and watched it again, this time IN HORROR. Its all beginning to make sense now, the rumors I'd heard about S2 being some kind of loli clusterfuck, and the preview that I at first glance thought was promoting some kind of PG13 magic battle anime.

Please tell me that I'm deluded and did not see the trailer for S2...please.

Hahaha take it from Gelal and me, OldOne. That second season has some good moments, but it's surrounded by FFFFUUUUUU everywhere. The first couple of episodes starts out really loli and then it gets back into groove. Characters from the first season are thrown around left and right. There is tension, but there is also lots of confusion. Don't miss that Sailor Moon note that I made earlier on this page. I liked the two main characters, although the season just had to end like... that.

Ugh, but watch the OVAs next. You have to, in order to 1) understand and 2) give a shit about the second season. Gelal will back me up on that, and he'll be able to explain everything better than I can.

Gotta be honest, I couldn't get into DtB that much . It wasn't bad, but I'd take Bebop, Trigun, Gungrave, Black Lagoon, etc, over it easily.

Speaking of Gungrave, I got into it because of the original PS2 game and its swanky intro.

That's the funny thing, Gungrave was a game first, but damn the anime adaptation was awesome. Not everyday that happens. lol

/The fuck is this? Are you talking about (Mahou Shoujo) Madoka Magica?/

Yeah... Just called it 4chan.org way.

/Also, 81 titles? Maybe calling yourself an "otaku" wasn't too far off the mark, since that would require some determined basement dwelling. I've watched more anime this year than any other year of my life, and I've watched...20, maybe 25 shows max, not including movies? And here I thought I had no life./

I was basement dweller about 7 months, so I had a lot of time to watch anime and make music, but now I got a job (four days for week), so guess not true *otaku* then.
Now's watching *Highschool of the Dead*, pretty cool anime about zombies.