Miramon
3361
I really like GITS:SAC. It’s pretentious, angsty, and slow at times, but even so, it just feels cooler, more grown up, and more fun all at the same time than most other anime, including the weak Appleseed that Masamune Shirow supposedly likes better.
Cowboy Bebop was my first anime and it’s always been high up there on my favorites list. GITS:SAC was pretty awesome too, but the soundtrack stands out the most for me.
One anime that doesn’t get enough mentions is Hajime no Ippo, also known as Fighting Spirit. Gave this one a chance on a whim even though I didn’t really care about boxing. Absolutely loved it. Very entertaining and funny, fights get tense, and I would even call it motivational. The dub is atrocious, never ever listen to it.
If you liked Death Note and like mechs in general, Code Geass. It is pretty similar to Death Note in a lot of ways.
Most of the other ones i’d suggest have mentioned.
I’d second Malkav’s RahXephon which i agree is better and more coherent than Evangelion. If nothing else though, it feels quite similar so you almost certainly like it if you liked Evangelion.
Claymore also should be right up your ally, being similar to Berserk in a lot of ways.
I would add Black Lagoon and Darker than Black (the first one only). Maybe Canaan too.
As far as lighter, guilty pleasures go, one of my personal favorites is Busou Renkin.
Otagan
3364
Legend of the Galactic Heroes (LoGH), which was mentioned at least once above, is easily one of the best space operas in any medium. It’s so devoid of typical anime fare that I would’ve enjoyed it even with no prior exposure. Simply fantastic, but the core series is 110 episodes with about 40 episodes of side stories, so it’s not for the faint of heart.
Code Geass, also mentioned above, has some similarities to Death Note, but your mileage will vary heavily. Personally, I liked it quite a bit in spite of its flaws.
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is an anime-styled retelling of… well… The Count of Monte Cristo. The main differences are that it is set in the future and has an absolutely captivating art style. It helps that it’s excellent to boot.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (again, mentioned somewhere above) is excellent as well (both seasons). Future cops fighting future crime, but the world and characters are both worth experiencing.
The next big project from Production IG (and Studio Wit):
— Alan
Can’t say this is surprising. The manga is super popular, although it never quite interested me enough to actually read it.
Trailer looks possibly good.
In any event, i only have eyes for sword art online for the moment, which remains amazing.
I’ve been meaning to ask if anyone else was watching this one. The kids and I absolutely love it. Admittedly, I preferred the first story arc to the second, but I have to put this show among my favorites…maybe not Cowboy Bebop or FMA great, but a ton of fun. We’ve caught with the broadcast schedule now. It’s hard having to wait to see what will happen next after consuming 23 episodes so rapidly.
Lamalo
3369
I’m up to about twenty episodes on SAO and it’s one of the few shows I am watching and enjoying in the last few years. Most anime nowadays is dreck, so it’s always nice finding something good.
Miramon
3370
Yeah, it seems to me there have been fewer innovative shows in the last 5+ years, and more derivative ripoffs. The average IQ has dropped, basically. I liked a lot of anime up until 2005-6 or so – GITS, Black Lagoon, Soul Eater, Gantz, for example, from around that period, and plenty back in the 90s, going all the way back to Bubblegum Crisis.
Even the graphical quality seems to me to be lower these days; I don’t mean the technical production values – those are better than they used to be obviously – but the graphical design, character design, and whatever you call animation mise-en-scène doesn’t seem as good as it used to be.
But next time I feel the urge to watch, I guess I’ll look up Sword Art Online.
HRose
3371
I’m up to episode 15 of Rahxephon and I can’t understand anything people say about this show.
Art-wise it’s mediocre. Bland, washed-out colors. Minimal effort on art and animation.
I’m up to episode 15, but while it’s overall interesting and atmospheric, it’s also quite boring and I never understand what is going on. Characters that I can’t recognize, that speak and act mysteriously. Dialogue that is dull and inconsequential.
Fight scenes are some kind of joke on Evangelion. There are just arbitrary things happening. Then Rahxephon gets tired and rips them apart. Like that. Every fight is essentially a WTF?! Just unexplained incongruous things.
The great music of Evangelion is replaced with dissonant jazz.
The Evangelion ED “Fly Me to the Moon” is replaced with “Fly Me to the Music”.
Everything else is just a weird riff on Evangelion. Plot point by plot point, character by character.
Miramon
3372
This is all true HRose, but I didn’t much like Evangelion – only watched a little and quit – and I inexplicably preferred RahXephon, even though it was obviously just riffing on a theme.
I think perhaps it was that certain individual scenes were pretty good even though the continuity was odd and parts were either dull or bizarre. I guess I liked the less creepy characters’ stories and motivations more, too.
RahXephon actually takes the time to explain most of the mysteries it raises (and there are plenty of those). You’ll still have questions at the end, but most of the core stuff will have been cleared up if you’re paying attention. That alone makes it a cut above, imho. The art and music are obviously a matter of personal taste. I thought they were great.
HRose
3374
Well, I do think nearly everything about Evangelion has an explanation, so that’s not a flaw in that show for me.
I picked up SAO thanks to you guys (who recommended this first? take a bow please). OMG I’ve not recall an anime where things just resolves and moves on at such a nice fast pace since…Claymore? Just an awesome show. It’s got the best, least dumb/pandering story in anime for the past few years.
I’m only up to the end of the first arc. I watched the new spoilery opening for the 2nd arc, and it’s depressing me.
SAO is so good, I’m actually risking to talk my wife into watching this. She is still sore at me for getting her to watch KimiNozo (a.k.a. hit-by-bus show). LOL.
And I would emphatically disagree.
Yes, the explanation is that initially they ran out of money/time and couldn’t implement an ending. Attempts to un mass effect 3 the ending at later dates failed as well.
The movie version may have corrected this, but i’ve already given them too many chances to have any hope or desire for yet another ending fix.
Anyone know how much more of SAO they’re planning to make? I haven’t watched any of it yet, but Wikipedia says there’s 23 episodes so far with 2 more coming up yet this year. My preference is usually to watch entire series at once, easier to buy (or otherwise obtain) that way…is this all they have planned?
I watched the first of the Berserk movies again. So cool how they got all the original voice actors for the dub to reprise their roles like ten years later. Too bad there weren’t any outtakes.
No, I was trying to find info on that the other day, myself. I’d love to know. I don’t really know how this works with anime in Japan. Are they typically mapped out from the beginning, or do shows get “renewed” like they do here?
Edit: apparently the adventures of Kirito do continue beyond this point in the manga, so they have material to work with, at the very least.
