I’m not a big anime person, but I do watch a quite decent amount. I’m not a snob about it, though (screw “true Japanese origins,” as long as it isn’t butchered I’m watching the friggin dub).
My favorites:
Princess Tutu (WAY cooler than it sounds!)
Hell Girl
Spirited Away
Axis Powers Hetalia (I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but…[spoil]I ship USUK)[/spoil]
Kingdom Hearts Manga
Others I have watched/read:
The Dreaming
Ouran High School Host Club
Fruits Basket
Pani Poni Dash
I’ve watched a few episodes of Death Note, liked it but wasn’t hooked
Princess Mononoke
Pretear
The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya (a little bit…)
On the topic of anime, I mainly will say that I’m a fan of the late Kon Satoshi and especially Studio Ghibli. There are some other good movies I’ve seen, like Barefoot Gen, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, and 5 Centimeters Per Second. I don’t really like the shows, honestly. I have a pretty silly sense of humor at times but I just don’t click with anime series, whether they’re comedies, romance, action, fantasy, or something else. The ones I’ve seen either in their entirety or partially are “The Melancholy Life Of Haruhi Suzumiya,” “FLCL,” and “Itazura na Kiss” ('cause I watched the cheesy Taiwanese drama). Wasn’t a huge fan of any, and some I straight up didn’t like at all. I’m still open to series, but anything that’s overdramatic or TOO silly is basically a no-no for me.
But yeah, mainly a Ghibli fan here. Here are my favorites in order:
My Neighbor Totoro (my first Ghibli movie at age 5 and forever my favorite)
Whisper of the Heart
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Only Yesterday (waiting for Disney/someone to release this… I’ve only seen it on TCM during their Ghibli feature and another time online, because I was getting impatient. If a blu-ray is released in Japan, I’m definitely getting it.)
Grave of the Fireflies
Howl’s Moving Castle
Castle in the Sky
The Cat Returns
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (only seen it once; long and exhausting to watch but still poetic)
My Neighbors the Yamadas
Porco Rosso
The Borrower Arrietty
From Up on Poppy Hill (very different for a Ghibli film, but I’ll need to watch again with subs to completely understand it)
Ponyo
Ocean Waves
Pom Poko
Tales from Earthsea
Some of the Disney dubs for Ghibli movies aren’t bad (though I can’t stand their dub for Totoro since I’m so used to Fox’s version), but my issue with dubs is when you can tell the voiceover actor is just that—a voiceover actor. I don’t know if that makes sense… They sound cheesy and they’re not always the best at delivering lines. But maybe that’s just me.
Oh, I watched Summer Wars with my sister a few months ago (she uses me as an excuse to do nerdy things). I found it pretty decent, especially with the bit of social commentary it gives on our internet-obsessed culture.
Astro Boy (in glorious black-and-white, before there were color TVs in every home)
Marine Boy
Speed Racer
Kimba the White Lion
Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman)
Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato)
[NOTE: The “wave motion gun” is the most awesome fictional weapon ever created, no others need apply.] youtube.com/watch?v=ty-1zWsXFNs
Enjoyed the following manga:
Barefoot Gen
Speed Racer
Enjoyed the following video releases:
Robotech
Akira
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Yeah, SG is a good balance of Japanese and Western styles. A good initiator into anime for the uninitiated. I would keep my mind open about anime TV, though. I know most of what we see is like Pokemon and Naruto, but those are only the super mainstream ones. Hell Girl, for instance, never uses the stereotypical anime expressions. Like, none of this:
In general I’m not that big into the anime/manga scene (I was when I was younger though!), but there are plenty that I quite enjoy. Anything from Studio Ghibli is my favorite I seem more susceptible to enjoying the older anime/manga stuff though, like from before the 90’s usually. Some I like:
Anime:
ANYTHING by Studio Ghibli, and solo works of their directors
Ouran High School Host Club
Angelic Layer
Di Gi Charat
A Little Snow Fairy Sugar
Manga:
Osamu Tezuka’s works (which I need to read more of…)
Yotsuba&! (Seriously, I would gladly recommend this even to someone who has a general aversion to anime/manga; it’s so nice…)
Oh! One manga I read was A Drifting Life, which really isn’t a standard manga but one of the first (if not the first? The story explains it all) of a new dramatic genre. It’s really more of a Japanese graphic novel.
I’m going to try getting into anime series again. If anyone has suggestions, please send them my way! Some things I dislike in anime series: sexist portrayal of women (aka large chest region), shallow drama, characters that are either incredibly ditzy or act cold and distant from everything because they’re so cool and fashionable, one-dimensional characters, too much stylized action, generally style over substance, and over-the-top gags and reactions. Basically, I want a show that’s either comparable to a Ghibli movie or any quality live-action show or movie with depth. I might be willing to watch something cutesy, as I tend to like that, but I’m not sure I could stand watching an entire series start to finish unless the show has something of depth to offer.
That doesn’t leave a lot, it seems… Sorry I’m so picky. I have been wanting to see “Paranoia Agent,” though, because I rather admire Kon Satoshi’s work.
Well, I really want to suggest Princess Tutu because of all the ones I’ve watched, its the best and most comparable to SG. However, part of me worries what you may think of Duck. She’s kinda ditzy, but not too bad in my opinion, and gets better later on. Fakir, as well, is cold and distant, but there’s actually quite a good reason for it. Mytho may seem EXTREMELY one-dimensional at first, but there’s actually a storytelling reason for that too. In fact, the first couple episodes are a little weaker, and the first episode in particular overuses anime expressions in a way the rest of the show doesn’t at all. But after you get past the first two, and ESPECIALLY once you get into the second season where the characters are trying to defy the fates set upon them by the story, its quite awesome, and not nearly as cutesy as the title would make you believe.
Basically, its about a storybook prince named Mytho who had to shatter his heart to trap an evil raven. The writer of his story, Drosselmeyer, decided to turn a duck into a girl so she could play the part of the mysterious Princess Tutu as his characters live out somewhat normal lives in a somewhat normal town. This girl, Duck, spends her time dancing ballet at school, crushing on Mytho and having a somewhat love/hate relationship with his friend Fakir (who is actually the reincarnation of a knight that was supposed to protect the prince). But, when she turns into Princess Tutu, she must retrieve the prince’s heart shards despite the defiance of Drosselmeyer and Princess Kraehe, an evil form of Mytho’s girlfriend Rue and the raven’s daughter. The anime is completely centered around ballet, but less on cutesy prettiness (at least once the story really gets going) and more on music and fairytale-style storytelling. The ending is beautifully bittersweet and the show has to date my absolute favorite couple in anime (Duck/Fakir. You may have seen them on a couple of my signatures)
My real first anime was probably Pokemon or Digimon, but the first times I knew what I was watching/reading was Japanese cartooning was Fruits Basket (pretty much first manga, in the 7th grade, not counting the one I hated and don’t even remember the name of) and Pani Poni Dash (anime).
My first anime was Pokemon I think. Possibly Beyblade, Digimon or Sailor Moon, they all merge into one when you’re a kid
I really like Deathnote and Fruits Basket
In terms of films, I love My Neighbour Totoro, Only Yesterday, Ponyo, Spirited Away, Grave of the Fireflies and Kiki’s Delivery Service.
I got both volumes of Tezuka’s Princess Knight (also known as Ribbon Knight) which has been around since the 50’s but never officially localized in English until recent. It’s really brilliant, the art is fantastic and the characters are all very likable.
Meanwhile, I’m still chugging along with Black Jack. I’m on volume 6 so far (I’m pretty sure there’s around 17!). For those interested, it’s an episodic series about a dark-spirited unlicensed surgeon, who can supposedly cure anything but he charges his patients ridiculous amounts of money. If you’re easily made squeamish some of the surgical scenes may be turn-offs but the fact that it’s in black and white keeps anything from ever looking nasty. (It’s rarely graphically bloody, anyway.)
Any animes you guys tihnk are overrated/underrated?
I think Naruto is overrated. I never got into it but I know it has a ton of fans. I never cared for the chatacters, story or anything else. It has always been overrated to me.
I think Case Closed is underrated. I liked the chacter and the episodes. Some mysterys are easy to solve and others are hard. Some of the murderers is someone you woulden’t exspect. I heard it had low ratings when it was on adult swim. But it aired at like 1:00 AM! Of course the rating’s were low. I wish they would give it another chance.
I have been wanting to see “Paranoia Agent,” though, because I rather admire Kon Satoshi’s work.
