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Myth's Anime Thread

Anyone ever seen Chobits here?
My girlfriend found it on Netflix. I thought it looked pretty bad, but I couldn't say no to that face :p
Anyway, we got to watching it, and I'm actually enjoying it. It's just a fun, funny anime. Doesn't seem to be very serious, more comedic and cute. It's quite enjoyable, so far, a few eps in :)

I talked about it a few pages back. First it's a cute romantic comedy, then every time the Town With No People shows up, it's serious science fiction, then it's a cute romantic comedy a few minutes later, and then finally, in the last third, it's consistently serious science fiction. It's an interesting switch, although I liked that it went places most shows would back away from. (The subplot about the guy who married a Persocom was genuinely touching.)
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Can anyone recommend good stand-alone Anime features. Most of the series have so many episodes I just can't muster up the interest to start on any of them. I'd like to find more good anime that tell a complete story in a couple of hours or so. I've seen all the Miyazaki films, and lately I've seen Summer Wars and Wolf Children. I've also seen some of the better known, older features like Akira and Ghost in the Shell.
 
What sort of movies do you like?

My favorite movie's Paprika. It revolves around a device used to control and analyze dreams--it's stolen and used maliciously to trap people in dreams, and eventually the dreams begin to overwrite reality. Imagine a Philip K. Dick novel on even more drugs.

Though I haven't watched it yet, I've also heard good things about Children Who Chase Lost Voices. It's a "journey to the underworld" type story, by a director who's known for breaking the audience's collective heart.
 

Ophiucha

Auror
Since you've seen two of Mamoru Hosoda's films, he also directed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, which I enjoyed. A cute romance with some slice-of-life elements and a science fiction element (time travel) to keep it interesting.

An older one that I like is Hadashi no Gen, which deals with Hiroshima. I actually like this one much better than Grave of the Fireflies, which is the really popular WWII-era anime film (and you should see it if you haven't even though it is unendingly tragic). HnG is also tragic as hell, but I liked the story and art style a bit better.

I'll second Paprika, as well as other films by that director: Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers. Satoshi Kon's works are really influential on anime and Western film - Inception and Black Swan were both notably influenced by his films.

Sword of the Stranger, a samurai film that ranks with some of the great live action ones in Japanese film history. Very solid animation, particularly during the sword fights.
 

teacup

Auror
Can anyone recommend good stand-alone Anime features. Most of the series have so many episodes I just can't muster up the interest to start on any of them. I'd like to find more good anime that tell a complete story in a couple of hours or so. I've seen all the Miyazaki films, and lately I've seen Summer Wars and Wolf Children. I've also seen some of the better known, older features like Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

I probably mentioned this earlier, but Kara No Kyoukai is very good. It's a series of anime films. I think there are 7, but you could probably watch any individual one and still understand. (Particularly #5, which is the best by far and a great standalone movie anyway.)

Whether you've ever watched Cowboy Bebop or not, there's a movie, which is basically like a big filler episode. It's very good and you can watch it without knowing anything about Bebop.

Perfect Blue is great. A real mind bender at parts, trying to figure it out and keep it all making sense in your head.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, which I absolutely love, has been remade into 2 films, so you could watch those rather than the entire anime. There are some changes, as well as unnecessary parts being cut, and the end is even longer (or it's just changed a bit, I don't know.) I actually prefer the end parts of the movie than the show.



Sword of the Stranger, a samurai film that ranks with some of the great live action ones in Japanese film history. Very solid animation, particularly during the sword fights.
This is on my list just from seeing the last fight on youtube.
 
Has anyone seen the Saint Seiya prequel/sequel shows? I have fond memories of the original, but I doubt that guarantees anything. (At least after all these years there's finally a translation available for the last eps of the classic storyline-- except I still hate to get it because they're only offering the 75-ep set that's almost all duplicates of what I have.)
 
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Mythopoet

Auror
So we decided to try out I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job and recently finished it. I liked it a lot. The characters were great. I think it was a much more enjoyable approach to the question "what happens to the heroes after the Big Bad is defeated?" than Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero. Though there was quite a bit of fan service in this as well. Personally, I don't mind some glorification of the female form. Let's face it, the female form is beautiful and it's natural to admire it. However, what does bother me is when all the proportions are on the improbable side and the physics of breast movement are completely unrealistic. No, boobs do not move like that. Ever. Still, I couldn't help enjoying the series for the characters. I loved Fino. She was so cute.

Now we're well into Gurren Lagann and wow! This is really one of those Great anime stories.
 

Rinzei

Troubadour
Picked up another show or two:

- Nagi no Asukara (Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea) - I didn't know what to think when I started this. Definitely liking it though. I'm on episode 12 out of a released 17 - with a planned 26 episodes. It's a little funny, but for the most part, a serious dramatic series that deals with racism and prejudice through the people of the Sea and the Surface. It's an interesting way of showing it. Best of all, it's an anime first and a manga second - which means the anime WILL have resolution at some point.

- My Little Monster - Just "finished" this one. Good comedy, but so disappointed that it has the (sadly) usual "manga ran out" ending. I know some series leave vague endings to possibly continue once the manga has more content, this one left NO ending. There was no resolution whatsoever! And considering the show ended in 2012, I don't see one coming. So disappointed, because I was really getting into it. I would recommend it to people, but definitely not to anyone who needs resolution. Otherwise, it will infuriate you.

- Silver Spoon - only watched one episode so far, but my husband and I are in stitches. It is funny on its own, but it hits a bit close to home for us. My husband was raised on a farm, and his father works for an agricultural college - and the main character LOOKS like him. WHAT. So we might find it funnier than most because we see everyone we know in a character somehow. It is doing well in Japan though, enough for a second season and a live action drama, so it must be doing something right!
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Thanks for the recommendations. I'm halfway through The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, which is quite good. Paprika is on my list next.

I've seen Perfect Blue and I thought that one was pretty good. I've added Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann ​to my list as well!
 

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
Has anyone seen the Saint Seiya prequel/sequel shows? I have fond memories of the original, but I doubt that guarantees anything. (At least after all these years there's finally a translation available for the last eps of the classic storyline-- except I still hate to get it because they're only offering the 75-ep set that's almost all duplicates of what I have.)

I haven't seen these, but you'd think I would have by now. It seems like something I'd like in a nostalgic kind of sense (like Voltron or something). A slight personal story: one of my students writes manga for the original creator of Saint Seiya.
 

Mythopoet

Auror
So, Kamina (Gurren Lagann) is definitely one of my top 5 favorite anime characters. (And we've watched up to episode 19 so yes, I know.) I am loving everything about this series.
 

teacup

Auror
So, Kamina (Gurren Lagann) is definitely one of my top 5 favorite anime characters. (And we've watched up to episode 19 so yes, I know.) I am loving everything about this series.

His character and humour alone hooked me from ep 1. It definitely is one of, if not the best anime I've seen.
Are you watching english or japanese dub? I prefer the english personally, I love their voices, and Leeron's is just perfect and hilarious.
 

Mythopoet

Auror
We're watching Japanese. I tried out an episode of the English, but I definitely think the Japanese is superior in this case. The English voices for Simon and Kamina just sounded so thin compared to the Japanese ones.
 

teacup

Auror
@Mythopoet:
Do you think you'll watch the movie remakes? TTGL was remade into 2 movies, with slight changes. I've not seen the 1st movie, but the 2nd is definitely worth watching even with watching the full series. (And if you've seen the series you wouldn't have to watch movie 1, of course.)
They're only in Japanese.
 

Mythopoet

Auror
Wow.

So last night we stayed up until 1 am to finish Gurren Lagann. We just couldn't stop. The story kept coming so fast and getting so big. There should be a picture of Gurren Lagann next to the definition of "over-the-top", but it was all awesome. We enjoyed every minute.

When it was over we both just sat there in silence for several minutes. Then my husband said, "So, Gurren Lagann. Great anime or Greatest anime?" I'm not sure, but at the moment I'm leaning toward "greatest".
 

teacup

Auror
There should be a picture of Gurren Lagann next to the definition of "over-the-top", but it was all awesome. We enjoyed every minute.

I'll tell you this, it gets even BIGGER in the movie remake. Yep, it is possible. It goes even more over the top.



What I find funny about this anime is that it's so hard to describe without it sounding stupid, yet it's one of the best. "Hey, come watch this anime about drills."
 
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Mythopoet

Auror
We will definitely have to watch the movies (and the parallel works), but probably not right away. I think cleansing the palate with some lighter fare would be in order before diving into that kind of awesome insanity again.

But I'll say this, I think I can forgive Gainax for Evangelion now.
 
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