Thread: Anime fans!

Slice of life: Aria the Animation
Comedy: Ouran High School Host Club
Action: Attack on Titan
Sci-fi: Steins;Gate
Mecha: Gunbuster

I cannot get into Attack on Titan, at first I was completely hooked but ever since what's his face turned into a titan it's been bugging me with its slow pace and ample time given so that blond kid can fucking whine. God, he is so fucking annoying it's ruining the show for me right now. I'm stuck somewhere after dude turned into a titan to move the boulder and tried punching his adopted sister instead, and that blond kid like, stabbed him in the back and whined about shit to get him to wake up and escape. It's worse than Naruto in its pace and ample time given to flash-backs and tearful monologue. Please tell me it gets better. At first I thought it was awesome, but they slowed the pace down too much so practically nothing happens in each episode.

I'm a bigger fan of anime where the emotions of the characters aren't given episode-length exposition. Even if the character is a little sappy, I don't need to know everything that happened in that character's childhood every single time they face a crisis. I feel like they patronize the audience when they have to go into such heavy detail to explain why a character reacts a certain way or how hard a certain decision was to make (looking at you Naruto!). And don't get me wrong, action for the sake of action puts me to sleep (looking at you, basically every fight scene involving Neo in the Matrix sequels, and the entire body of work by Michael Bay) but I don't need THAT much exposition to pick up on the trials of the characters. I can pick up on subtext.

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit did a fantastic job at finding the line in between emotionally driven anime without too much exposition. Breath-taking.

Death Note also did an incredible job, it didn't dumb down or over-explain L's final dilemma, and that was a smart move because it left it open to interpretation. My interpretation happened to be the correct one, whereas my philistine friends couldn't see passed motivations of victory or self-preservation.

Mushishi is one of the most beautiful anime ever made in the history of reality. Normally I'm not a huge fan of anthology because I like the story to be going somewhere, but there's something very moving about each individual story on its own.

Sword Art Online wasn't too bad either, I really liked the premise but I don't remember anything outstanding about the story itself. The ending was a little too fluffy.

Samurai Champloo had a great premise, a couple of good episodes here and there in the middle and an incredible ending. The last three episodes sky-rocket it among the greatest anime ever.

Cowboy Bebop made one of the greatest anime movies of all time. The series is pretty enjoyable, too, and like Samurai Champloo the last few episodes are unforgettable.

Trigun is personally my favorite anime of all time. The atmosphere is great and the character progression really sells it for me. Wolfwood is hands down one of the most intriguing characters ever made, especially if you read the manga. In the anime, it's less noticeable but the thematic dilemma of right and wrong set upon a stage covered in symbols of Christianity is too beautiful to ignore. At first Vash easily handles every situation to near perfection without compromising a single moral and early episodes are spent presenting his character one layer at a time, but the moral dilemma becomes more difficult with each progressive episode until finally the core failure of his pathos is revealed. From there the real trial begins, one of understanding compromise. Is it better to compromise with the inert violence of the world as Wolfwood does, or stick to absolute integrity and fail as Vash does?

Honorable Mentions include Elfen Lied, Ghost in the Shell, Baccano!, Berserk, Neon Genesis, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (and the first half of FMA the original), Wolf's Rain and Yuyu Hakusho. The only reason I'm not writing a review on these is because I don't feel like writing any more right now.

NARUTOOOOOO

and Dragonball, Dragonball Z

I was obsessed with Anime/Manga when I was younger, but nowadays, not so much. I do not dislike Anime, rather mine taste in Anime (and visual entertainment in general) has greatly narrowed over the years; I am extremely selective with anything I watch.

These are a few favourites I can think of at the top of mine head:

1). Jing, King of Bandits (this one will always be mine top favourite. It is truly a shame the main series was never finished)
2). Samurai Champloo
3). Full Metal Alchemist
4). Shaman King (the Japanese version, not the Americanised version)
5). One Piece (again, the Japanese version)
6). Tales of Phantasia (based on the SNES RPG)
7). Fire Emblem (based on Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi & Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo for the SNES)

Though I doubt it will ever happen, I would love to see an Anime adaptation of Golden Sun, Kingdom Hearts, The World Ends With You, Baten Kaitos, and Xenoblade Chronicles. Those are some of mine favourite RPG's of all time.

I am not sure how you can think Attack on Titan slowed down then list stuff like Death Note and Trigun which slow down far more. The entire second half of both of those shows really slow down and in my opinion are not as good as the first half(though death note does make up for it with a great ending). I would give Attack on Titan another try though, since the second half of it is even more intense and faster pace than the first. If it slows down at all it is only for an episode or two, and honestly I don't remember it slowing down at all(Then again I didnt hate that guy either).

Originally Posted by Alric

I am not sure how you can think Attack on Titan slowed down then list stuff like Death Note and Trigun which slow down far more. The entire second half of both of those shows really slow down and in my opinion are not as good as the first half(though death note does make up for it with a great ending). I would give Attack on Titan another try though, since the second half of it is even more intense and faster pace than the first. If it slows down at all it is only for an episode or two, and honestly I don't remember it slowing down at all(Then again I didnt hate that guy either).

Trigun grows more compelling, if you think the first half is better than the second half of Trigun, you and I have simply nothing more to talk about, ever. We may as well just ignore each other's posts from now on because we will never be able to find common ground about anything. In the infinity of existence as we experience every facet of possibility through multitudes of reincarnation until we've carried the perspective of every living and non-living being inside us and can connect with the greatness of Brahman, the sleeping, fractured Self, we will still not be able to see eye to eye about anything. I no longer respect your opinion and cannot even agree to disagree. If I am the Lord of Light, you are the Great Other whose name must not be spoken. I would say good day sir, but for all I know to wish you a good day means to wish you to have a midget assault your testicles with a cheese grater.

Originally Posted by Original Poster

Trigun grows more compelling, if you think the first half is better than the second half of Trigun, you and I have simply nothing more to talk about, ever. We may as well just ignore each other's posts from now on because we will never be able to find common ground about anything. In the infinity of existence as we experience every facet of possibility through multitudes of reincarnation until we've carried the perspective of every living and non-living being inside us and can connect with the greatness of Brahman, the sleeping, fractured Self, we will still not be able to see eye to eye about anything. I no longer respect your opinion and cannot even agree to disagree. If I am the Lord of Light, you are the Great Other whose name must not be spoken. I would say good day sir, but for all I know to wish you a good day means to wish you to have a midget assault your testicles with a cheese grater.

I can't even remember a lot of the second half, and I am not even sure if I watched all the episodes or not. It just became angst filled drama and super guns.

Sir, as I have mentioned in my first post in this thread, the story puts moral absolutism on trial as, in the first half, Vash is easily able to thwart any dilemma he comes across, typically with very little difficulty. Progressively, the apparently necessity of moral compromise increases, and yet still he and everybody else makes it out just fine. Little by little, it is revealed that not even Vash can save everyone, and this frustrates Wolfwood who knows you can't save the bad guys, too, but Vash refuses to hear it, either because of some greater wisdom or because of a character fault. Then, in the episode Rem Saverem, which comes directly after the big reveal of his "super gun" as you call it, it's shown how he inherited this character flaw from his guardian and greatest role-model, and his great dilemma is contrasted with his brother Knives, who saved the butterfly by killing the spider. Vash wanted to save both, which is logically impossible, yet even so he cannot let go of his desire to save both.

We come back to the modern day Vash, who has hidden away under the guise Eriks after his "super gun" shot a hole in the moon. This is because the story is not about super guns, but about his rejection of what he is, a being capable of mass murder. Despite him holding such vast amounts of power within him, he remains powerless to save both the spider and the butterfly, and it tortures him. The episode in particular has a shower scene where the girl Eriks is living with sees his body, mutilated and covered with scars upon scars upon scars, parts of it literally bolted together, as the price he has paid throughout a century of living in absolutism contradictory of the laws of nature.

I won't continue to give away any big spoilers, but the beauty of this masterpiece is evident to me. I understand the beginning is necessary to build the stage for the climax but it's not until the moral dilemma really sets in that the story takes off.

As far as Death Note, I don't like the second half much either, but I think L had one helluva beautiful death and for some reason I'm in the minority on this opinion (because most people I talk to simply don't seem to get it, I guess)

I don't think Trigun is bad or anything, and I do like it. That said, they kind of take things to an absurd level. Both in terms of the moral absolutism and the super guns.

I don't think anyone's mentioned Ergo Proxy yet, It's a gem in my eyes. Sword Art Online was also pretty great. Just finished Cowboy Bebop, spectacular. I have high hopes for the movie too, noting on what Original Poster said.

I'm into anime. I mean I haven't really had that much time to watch but I watch it sometimes. Something I don't think anyone mentioned here is Shinryaku! Ika Musume! It's not the best anime I've ever seen but for some reason it has a special place in my heart.
I really like comedy anime. Funniest ones I have seen are Gintama, Kore wa zombie desu ka? and Plastic Nee-san (only one episode and yet so amazing). If anyone knows something really funny please recommend it!
Other anime I like are Death Note (mostly the first part), Soul Eater (recently finished watching), Nichijou (that feeling when no second season ever), Watamote (love it but prefer the manga), Steins;Gate (one of my favorites) and Yuru Yuri along with some others.
If you guys are looking for something different that isn't very well known try Kaiba. Its pretty interesting and different from most anime.
Most recent series I followed were Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill, Log Horizon (haven't finished but its good), Date a Live, Watamote and Danganronpa (rushed as hell but was still fun to watch and accompany).

Originally Posted by Alric

I don't think Trigun is bad or anything, and I do like it. That said, they kind of take things to an absurd level. Both in terms of the moral absolutism and the super guns.

Moral absolutism is the entire theme of the show, you're basically saying you don't like it because of what it says about life. And the super guns are barely in it at all, they're only there in the very last episode and a couple of times before then, and only then just to plague Vash's mind and torture him with the fact that he's capable of mass destruction and all that immense power and still can't save both the spider and the butterfly.

It isn't the theme but the execution. Like I said they take it to the absurd. Take the spider and the butterfly example you gave. Replace the butterfly with a baby and replace the spider with a human flesh eating monster that has machine guns for arms. Then the monster shoots fifty people and tries to eat the baby, do you still help the monster to live?

Things could be a little more subtle and the bad guy could be a little more sympathetic. Also the ending leads you to believe that the main hero doesn't even believe in that stuff, and only did it because he was blindly following what someone told him to do.

Don't you notice all the Christian symbolism throughout the story? It's never presented that Vash has the right way of thinking, if anything it's the opposite, he is forced to kill eventually. His moral absolutism falls apart.

But he's not necessarily just blindly following Rem, rather Rem showed him a way to see things that people like you (or Wolfwood up until the end) can't see. A lot of it is honoring her memory, the last piece he has of her is the unconditional love, turn the other cheek philosophy she imparted him with. To forsake that idealism is to forsake her. She's been dead over a century and Knives killed her last surviving relative, but that just makes Vash cling to her vision even stronger. Vash is just a dog waiting at the station for his master to get off the train because that's all he's capable of, that's the kind of machine he is.

It goes even deeper how tragic Vash's idealism is. He's a plant, as is his brother, and the humans on Planet Gunsmoke depend on the plants to survive. His brother Knives wants to destroy humanity and free the plants because they're essentially being held in captivity, their power parasitically leeched by people to sustain themselves. Knives comes off like a villain but he's simply choosing one life or another, because you have to, and he's choosing his own kind over the humans. Vash, on the other hand, can't bring himself to even make the choice. He simply can't, he can't bring himself to choose whatever grotesque monster you're describing over a baby, they both deserve life in his mind. That's not even just following Rem's idealism, that's the nature he entered the world with.

I think I probably mentioned this sometimes earlier in the Anime/Manga thread but,

Yessss, Black Lagoon is on Adult Swim again

Awesome for people like me who are too cheap to buy DVDs! If I did, though, I'd probably put Black Lagoon on the list to buy.

No one has mentioned FLCL yet, that is one of my favorites.

Tenchi Muyo
Jojo's Bizarre Adventures.
Dream Eater Merry
Outlaw Star
FLCL
Paranoia Agent
Slayers
Kill La Kill

Although, i'm pretty heavy handed with the animes of the 90s.

Just watched all the 25 Attack on Titan episodes during the weekend!!
Awesome. I really liked it.
Now probably Trigun and Cowboy Bebop.
Tks.

I highly recommend TTGL (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) if you havent watched it already, no spoilers though.

*Moved to Entertainment*

Originally Posted by Scionox

I highly recommend TTGL (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) if you havent watched it already, no spoilers though.

*Moved to Entertainment*

A friend of mine keeps telling me that I have to see it. Ugh.

I just finished Shingeki No Kyogen, I thought it was already finished though.

Steins;Gate and Black Rock Shooter are two of my absolute favorite animes and are definitely worth a look. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya is also (to me) a great anime and was entertaining to watch The light novel series it was based off of is also pretty good from what I've read so far.

I will make it quick: http://myanimelist.net/animelist/iHitokage
But my top one is definitely Neon Genesis Evangelion. The deepest and most interesting anime I have ever seen.
The second one would be Cowboy Bebop. There is also a lot hidden in that one.
I prefer anime with some deep thought where you can meditate about it for years and get some new and exceptional thoughts and ideas.

Now that its summer vacation for me I like to spend my summer nights watching anime...I recently finished Code Geass! LORD HAVE MERCY THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!! I try to stay away from the typical 'overrated anime' but I was SOO bored I watched it!!!! I got so into it I even LD/DC that I made out with the main character LMAO...TMI? before that though I saw Blue Exorcists (Pretty Good)...

ALL TIME FAVS AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The Big O
Hellsing
xxxHolic
Black Butler
Darker than Black

and so many more but I can't think right now!

One Piece
Naruto
Dragon Ball