I will admit there is some anime that I like, most of it being the kind that makes you think and isn't just random senseless violence (I have video games for that
) (i.e. Death Note, Code Geass, Bleach [to some tiny extent, at least there's a plot]). The one thing that really irks my chain is Naruto, it's not a ninja 'toon, it's a duskblade/beguiler/battle mage 'toon. Also Dragon Ball Z is the exact same thing over and over again, the villians are just carbon copies (literally once) of each other.On a side note "greatswords" longer than 6 ft annoy the hell outa me. [/rant]
So what are your opinions about nime in general (I know it's not a genre, its a style, but a lot of it is very similiar. Talk, talk, talk, fight, fight, fight, talk, next episode with no plot advance).
Old school...
Speed Racer
Macrocross
Battle of the Planets
Gobots
Gigantor
Except if the cartoon is Gargoyles. :P
As for anime, I don't have much of an opinion. I was never really drawn to it. Well, except for Cowboy Beebop, that is. It just doesn't interest me.
Today offers some fantastic adult cartoons as well. Adult Swim has many programs ranging from the well know Family Guy to some oddballs like Squidbillies and Frisky Dingo. All in all, there's a plethora of entertaining cartoons for the discriminating (or not) adult viewer.
http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20080618.html
Any adult who still watches Western animation is on very shaky ground when it comes to criticizing anime fans, let me tell ya.
Except if the cartoon is Gargoyles. :P
Hey now I have a reasonable excuse. I make cartoons for a living.
Plus Avatar is Western Animation, even if it dose borrow a lot from Anime.
And we got a Smurfs movie in the works I hear.
Frankly Animation is the same on both sides of the pond. 90% = half hour Toy Commercials and the other 10% is actually good.
The Japanese just seem to have 10 times as much of it as we do.
I had watched the ol' skool 'toons since I was a lil' child, now I talk to the lil' punks that are 1 year younger to me and they don't know what a Captain Planet is, or why I just said that DBZ makes Tom and the ice cream company (Jerry) look like pacifics. Most kids nowadays don't know about great cartoons such as Ed, Edd, and Eddy, or Dexter's Lab (it had a D&D parady episode, I just reliezed that). The only 'toons they have that doesn't have random senseless violence is Camp Lazlo, Chowder, ect. (I didn't think writers for children programs could be "chemically enhanced").
I will admit there is some anime that I like, most of it being the kind that makes you think and isn't just random senseless violence (I have video games for that
On a side note "greatswords" longer than 6 ft annoy the hell outa me. [/rant]
So what are your opinions about nime in general (I know it's not a genre, its a style, but a lot of it is very similiar. Talk, talk, talk, fight, fight, fight, talk, next episode with no plot advance).
Ed, Edd, & Eddy, Dexter's Lab, ol' skool? I have new shoes that are older then that! Ol' skool is Bravestarr, Thundercats, Jonny Quest, He-Man, Voltron, and even the Dungons & Dragons cartoon!
Captain Planet is a tree-hugging idiot! Camp Lazlo is utterly boring! Chowder is a dandly little fagget! DBZ is just retarded screaming and grandstanding! Bleach is DBZ, but with swords! Naruto should just kill himself! 'THE' Batman is nothing next to the 90s Batman.
On the other hand. Avatar kicks ass! Billy & Mandy is dame good ****! Beast Wars and (non-ABC) Reboot was truly EPIC!
Its hard to hate Anime as a whole, with all the diversity to it. At the lowest end, you get stupid **** like Pokemon, Dragonball Z, and G Gundam, and at the high end, you get some dame good **** like Serial Experiment Lain, Ghost in Shell: SAC, and Fooly Cooly. It ranges from super kwet to the 'taste of the ultra violence'. From light hearted cartoons to hardedge gritty pulp. From silly school-girl crushes to "rule 34"-type perversions! They got somthing for everyone, and that is the power of anime!
Damn kids and their anime.
http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20080618.html
You've ninja'd me.
Fun fact: if I'm not mistaken, big eyes have been introduced to manga by Osamu Tezuka. His inspiration was Mickey Mouse :P
You've ninja'd me.
Fun fact: if I'm not mistaken, big eyes have been introduced to manga by Osamu Tezuka. His inspiration was Mickey Mouse :P
Actually, most modern anime can trace it's roots back to Disney. It gets really heavy into the irony when you start talking about Miyazaki, whose style was directly channeled from Disney in the 1960's and whose back catalog is now published in most non-Japanese markets by, you guessed it, Disney.
Farmer, you made me hate Disney. Also, I can't legally drink. Just saying.
a short list of some of my favorite toons:
teen titans, love the anime spoof style
justice league unlimited, ya gotta love super girl telling captain atom to take the stick out
90's batman and superman
80's xmen
the shin chan star wars spoof episode
I enjoyed Thundercats, Masters of the Universe, and Transformers later in life, during my high school years, but are these considered anime? My guess is not so much.
Anime has become more and more popular over the years. I'm 38 now (an old man ;)), but based on my childhood viewing habits, I can't help but think that I might enjoy anime cartoons. I know I loved the Battle of the Planet series, so I've always been curious. I've never had much exposure however and don't know where to start my viewing. Any suggestions? I don't have cable, but I do enjoy buying and collecting DVDs.
Are you talking about the original Tom and Jerry from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, or the newer stuff that's not nearly as good?
This. The new stuff is horrible, I think I heard one of 'em talk.
EDIT: Typically, it was Tex providing a voice. He did the same thing for Wile E. Coyote.
I have two words to why I think the vast majority of really old cartoons are sensless violence. Bugs Bunny.
Especially when he nips the Nips.
Actually I think that what really changed in cartoons are a) technology and b) pop-culture references. Anything else is just coming back and forth throughout the years.
Especially when he nips the Nips.
Actually I think that what really changed in cartoons are a) technology and b) pop-culture references. Anything else is just coming back and forth throughout the years.
Bugs Bunny was full of pop-culture references for its time, though. The pop culture has just changed enough between now and then that a lot of them go over the heads of people watching them today.
I've never had much exposure however and don't know where to start my viewing. Any suggestions? I don't have cable, but I do enjoy buying and collecting DVDs.
To kind of ease yourself in, try Exosquad. It was a cartoon that was influenced by anime. Really cool. They even killed characters off. It's older, of course, but it was fantastic. I'm not sure if you can get it on DVD, though. If you can, it'll be worth it.
I also reccomend Cowboy Beebop. I know you can find that on DVD. Good stuff.
Anime has become more and more popular over the years. I'm 38 now (an old man ;)), but based on my childhood viewing habits, I can't help but think that I might enjoy anime cartoons. I know I loved the Battle of the Planet series, so I've always been curious. I've never had much exposure however and don't know where to start my viewing. Any suggestions? I don't have cable, but I do enjoy buying and collecting DVDs.
I'd recommend looking for Robotech/Macross(the original japanese series that was creatively edited and redubbed to give us the first couple seasons of Robotech), Voltron(they also just released its original japanese series in the US as well), or possibly the earlier Gundam series.
I had watched the ol' skool 'toons since I was a lil' child, now I talk to the lil' punks that are 1 year younger to me and they don't know what a Captain Planet is, or why I just said that DBZ makes Tom and the ice cream company (Jerry) look like pacifics. Most kids nowadays don't know about great cartoons such as Ed, Edd, and Eddy, or Dexter's Lab (it had a D&D parady episode, I just reliezed that). The only 'toons they have that doesn't have random senseless violence is Camp Lazlo, Chowder, ect. (I didn't think writers for children programs could be "chemically enhanced").
Wait, people are getting nostalgic for the 90's now? This is ridiculous.
As I grew up though it felt like I wanted something more from cartoons that western animation wasn't giving me anymore, but that's when I discovered Anime (Japanese Animation) and have been a fan ever since. The closest western animation that I can think of that ranks high on my list would have to be Avatar the Last Airbender.
For those of you who only think of DBZ or Naruto when it comes to anime might be looking at the wrong demographic. Those two are categorized as Shonen which is meant for a more younger teenage audience. I'd suggest Seinen for us older folk, and dare I say it? Shoujo, if you want something with a more feminine touch (aimed towards women).
A big thing that factors into Anime that people sometimes miss though is that it's from 'Japan' and their customs and mannerisms are very different from ours in the States.
Peace
I remember these shows when I was a kid and I see an episode I remember and I smile as I see the punch line coming up and ...... nothing.
Because they had to edit the punchlines out to make it more "safe for children"
When Bugs makes a turkey out of Dinamite and feeds it to the Tazmainian Devil, it's only funny if you actually see Taz Eat the Turkey, have it explode in his stomach and watch him swell up like a balloon then beltch smoke.
but no. Bugs walks off screen with a sizzeling Dina-Turkey then /CUT/ smoke is coming out of Taz's mouth.
It's just sad that kids aren't allowed to enjoy these things anymore.
It's just sad that kids aren't allowed to enjoy these things anymore.
Not really. I spent 4 years in juvey for dynamite turkeyin' my 3rd grade teacher. What? She had it comin' ...
I had forgotten all about Robotech over the years, but now that I think about it, that would be one I'd prolly enjoy. Never heard of Voltron but wikipedia tells me ;) its a giant mecha, so I'd prolly enjoy it as well
Cowboy Bebop looks as if it could be an unexpected surprise; I've certainly heard good things about it.
These three look like a good place to start. Now that DVD sets are available, I can finally watch shows I never got to watch years ago, but would have enjoyed. Thanks again!
Wait, people are getting nostalgic for the 90's now? This is ridiculous.
The 90s were before 2000, when Bush got elected.
Oh, and Flash_Plasma forgot outlaw star.
I think that wraps up the best of the best.
I've got all of Robotech on DVD+VHS.
Now if you want something that is not just bad, but evil:
try out Neon Genesis Evangelon, they say he had a stroke near the end, but I say he had to be sadistic madman. It starts out above average, but the ending is... like removing your brain threw a sweat gland in your foot with a rusty spoon.
The Japanese take their animation very seriously. They make shows for every range of the age bracket. This guy does a good job of blogging the more outstanding ones. If you're interested in what's good but never reaches the states (or at least, doesn't until several years afterwards), check 'em out. (You can usually find fansubs fairly easily for these.)
I myself think anime is alot better than western animation. Why?
Because Anime actually has a meaning , actually has depth , it has a point. Sure captain Planet wants you to recycle and stop polluting but a lot of anime touch on morals. philosophy , religion , social interpretation. Not to mention that even though there are some westernized shows that have a point , they no where near the number of dumb downed violence shows. You say anime has nonscence violence (which I presume are shows like Love Hina) there are a WHOLE lot more western shows focused on nonscecne violence than there are anime , and even Love Hina touchs on social interpretation and relationships where things like bugs bunny and tom and Jerry do nothing BUT violence. Its very hypocritcal that people say that.
Not to mention as I said earlier there is alot more depth in anime. Dragon Ball Z had more depth than most western animations , and thats saying alot. Not to mention that that is one of the main problems with people trying to understand anime. The first thing they look to is DBZ which most anime fans are only into for nostalgia reasons. But back to the depth , theres alot of character and world immersion that western animations lack ( minus the good ones like Beast Wars :D ) . I can get attached to characters in anime and connect with them , theres actually a meaning for them instead of just being random people doing random things.
I would also like to say that narutards ruined Naruto. As much as people say its bad , its actually really good when you come looking for the right thing. Do not come into Naruto looking for assassins and stealthy ninja pursuits Tenchu style , you need to take into thought of a world where a ninja is more of a warrior and a common military at that. Naruto has a incredible amount of depth to it , one of the things I like. Almost every character has a story to them and something setting them apart from another , even if it turns into a huge DBZ style fight atleast there is a point to the fighting and where the anime is going. Atleast it has character development and depth. And at the same time it captivates a unique style while keeping it very action oriented.
I like anime because they are more like books than western animation could ever be. The same reason I play video games. I am a person for story , I like to learn things and see others viewpoints of philosophies and morals.
If you want to think of anime , dont start with DBZ. Right now pick up Neon Genesis Evangelion , its what started me into anime. There is nothing that is more thought provoking , philisophical , spiritual , and down right psychological than this anime. Its a beautiful peice of art. If you want to view something with any type of meaning then thats where you need to start. Then you might be able to see the depth that anime brings and how much more involving it is than mindless slugfest superhero western animation.
I've seen enough good, bad, indifferent and just plain awful cartoons and anime I judge 'em on their own merits.
Cartoon wise, I think we're seeing a dip in the quality of western animation in the last few years; the end of DC's 90s run ending with Justise League Unlimited being the most recent, along with American Drago and Kim Possible - both of which I was astounded to find I liked, with them being Disney. I will also sadly miss W.i.t.c.h. Nothing new decent and serious in tone (save perhaps Legion of Superheroes and the upcoming Wolverine and the X Men) since JLU - and of course the end of Avatar.
I think the highlight was the mid-late 90s with Marvel and DC's universes and the general quality of intellect going into cartoon cartoons (Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff girls, Johnny Bravo, even Megas XLR). The 80s started it (He-Man, Transformers, the Real Ghostbusters 1) but it wasn't until later the plots actually became really, really good.
Anime-wise I'm happy, since I like both Pokemon and Naruto (as they have brightly coloured thing blowing the crap out of each other with even more brightly coloured things.)
Avatar is of course, a bright spot, being one of the best shows I've seen - period. It has most of the neem of Naruto without the long drawn-out flash backs which is the least good thing about that show. If they actually were allowed to have blood in it ( a la Naruto) it'd be just about perfect. Avatar is so good I refuse to watch it on the telly and instead torture myself waiting for the full season boxed sets every year.
Best of the current crop, cartoon-wise in my not in the least humble opinion? Ben 10 isn't too bad, nor is Legion of Superheroes (I think Teen Titans was better, though).
Transformers: Animated I think is superb once you make the adjustment to the background and animation style. The fact they made Starscream more like his comic counterpart (I.e. badass) and slathered it with G1 references really helped.
I'm definately looking foward to Wolverine and the X-Men, which looks like it'll combine the animation style of X-Men Evolution (which was okay, though the series itself was a bit meh) with something closer to the 90's tone. And it stars Wolverine voices by Steve Blum. The trailer looked awesome.
1Seriously, sometimes that show gave me the creeps. That was pretty cool.
Side Note: Naruto would be better if it didn't sell as a ninja anime.
/absolutely awful....
Also rap isn't music. It has neither harmony or melody, only rhythm and to be music something needs two or three of those 3 things.
Some Anime is crap. Naruto really isn't all that impressive, and Dragon Ball Z is just atrocious. But it is an incredibly wide genre, and there is some really good stuff in it. Miyazaki has produced a lot of incredibly good movies, in anime style. Same thing with cartoons, Avatar is way deeper than something like Tom and Jerry.
Also rap isn't music. It has neither harmony or melody, only rhythm and to be music something needs two or three of those 3 things.
Try telling millions of people across the planet that.
Anime is to animation what rap is to music.
/absolutely awful....
I like your justifications on the subject , even if its hollow without anything to support it.
Let's also not forget Liquid Television (back when MTV was actually good), which spawned Aeon Flux.
Today, that's not much different, though I do tend to watch more anime than cartoons these days. I prefer the less "kiddy" stuff like One Piece, Afro Samurai, Rurouni Kenshin, Excel Saga, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Death Note (one of my favorites), Naruto (prefer the manga), Bleach (prefer the manga), Ghost in the Shell, and let's not forget the movies (Ninja Scroll, VHD: Bloodlust, Spirited Away, CB: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, etc.).
I'm still a sucker for 90's cartoons, esp. X-Men (I wish to God that would be on DVD), but nevertheless, you can never say "you see one anime, you've seen them all". After all, as you have said, pigknight, you don't hate ALL anime, just some, and I'm with you to an extent. There are certain anime I just can't stand, like Pokemon (despise it).
I am glad you made this thread, pigknight, despite any disagreement. This is a topic I've always wanted to discuss.
Lumping all anime together makes about as much sense as lumping all American live-action movies together.
QFT
I'm glad you have opinions I can agree with.
Naruto is a prime example as is DBZ with taking a ridicules amount of time for anything to happen because the action takes 5 minutes to happen when the mange took 50 pages. These shows are really not that bad (I much prefer the new naruto). The manga is usually much better imo.
Growing up in the 80s sees lots of great shows. Many of these shows however where marketing campaigns for toys and caused much of the difference between Anime and western productions. Even much of the anime that was brought over at the time was to sell toys (Voltron is a great example). Most of this anime was so edited it barely resembles the original source material. Watch Pokѐmon in Japanese with subtitles to see what I am talking about. Unedited anime is much better and even the kiddy stuff is more interesting.
I have already seen most of my favorites but i will throw out SilverHawks, Johny Quest, and Darkwing Duck. There are really too many others to mention but the first real anime I ever saw was Vampire Hunter D.
Try telling millions of people across the planet that.
Just because lots of people believe something doesn't make it true. Also, don't look up yaoi. Its a bad move. Unless you also play FATAL, in which case you should, just not at work.
...try looking up yaoi. V
"IT'S A TRAAAAAAAAP!!!!"
I would also recommend shows like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzamiya. It's a little trippy, but it also pokes fun at anime in general (the main character wants a world filled with the standard anime tropes, but lives in the real world [sort of]) and still manages to have some really serious points.
When I have to recommend Anime to someone I use this list.
For Fantasy
Record of Lodoss war
Rune Soldier
Claymore
The Twelve Kingdoms
Berserk
Spice and Wolf
For Sci-Fi
Crest of the Stars + Banner of the Stars
Figure 17
Ergo Proxie
Other
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Dai-Guard
Black Lagoon
pretty much anything by Miazaki
Perfect Blue
Millennium Actress
Death Note
Those are the ones I consider some of the better works out there. Lodoss War and Rune Soldier in particular I think would be enjoyed by just about anyone who likes D&D. (Lodoss = Epic play style D&D, Rune Soldier = Fun play style D&D).
There are a few other things I consider really good but the ones above are the ones that would appeal to the broadest number of people. Things like FLCL and Lain... well, you have to be in a certain frame of mind to fully enjoy them.
There is too much variety. Like Naruto and Girls Bravo have about as much in common as Power Rangers and General Hospital. They are just animated versions of normal shows, with the same variety.
I would also add full metal alchemist to that list above. Its a pretty good show, with more of a focus on morality, ethics, human perception, etc. than most people who have ever seen more than three episodes give it credit for. It gets a lot darker later on too, and the fight sequences are usually fairly short.
Yeah, its a huge category. It contains its fair share of crap, but judging all anime off of it would be like judging all live action movies off of the first dungeon dragons movie. Or Zardoz. Or it would be like judging all pen and paper RPGs off of FATAL.
I would also add full metal alchemist to that list above. Its a pretty good show, with more of a focus on morality, ethics, human perception, etc. than most people who have ever seen more than three episodes give it credit for. It gets a lot darker later on too, and the fight sequences are usually fairly short.
Yes, FMA is one of the best animes ever. It actually uses real scientific theories held in the early 20th century and a lot of Medieval Esoteric elements as well, which was pretty cool.
I still can't believe it is a shonen, it should be a seinen.
EDIT: Some other random off-topic randomness from ACen: Fat Man in a Skirt Asks a Question
That's weird. Sure, I watched my fair share of mindless hero-action shonen anime in my youth, but who hasn't? That's strictly kiddie fare, and male kids nearly always like that sort of heroic coming-of-age story, regardless of medium.
These days, I like my shonen, too, but I've watched more of the anime library and truth to tell, only a small fraction of anime actually contains violence. Here's a bunch of shows I don't hear a lot of:
Cooking Master Boy - it's probably shonen, but it's about the hero's journey to restart his family's retaurant business and fulfill his destiny as the best chef in all the world. No, he doesn't need to fight anyone in combat to do that. It's mildly entertaining. Not too good, but it passes the time.
Grander Musashi - much the same formulaic thing as above, except about fishing. If you like to fish, you might enjoy the treatment of the hobby. Not a lot of combat here, either.
Hikaru no Go - watched this recently. It's the story of a Go player's rise to prestige and power. Yes, Go, as in Chinese chess. You'd think watching an anime about a board game would be boring. You couldn't be more wrong. This thing is seriously addictive. 75+ episodes of win.
Cardcaptor Sakura - magical girl series. Be warned, the cuteness factor on this is off the charts. If you don't like cutesy animation, steer wide and clear. Young girl lets a bunch of magic cards loose and has to track them all down to prevent world destruction. Very episodic early on, but there are no magical transformation sequences, she needs to use her head or her compassion often to capture cards, and it gets decidedly dark in the second season when the plot threads come together.
Princess Tutu - ultra-cute animation hides dark depressing story, but good. Definitely darker than Cardcaptor. Yes, this is a ballet-dancing anime.
Prince of Tennis - you guessed it, tennis anime. This ranks consistently high on the list for many anime fans. It's decidedly shonen in presentation, though. No, they don't beat each other up with rackets.
Aishiteruze Baby - young high school boy finds himself saddled with a baby girl and faces the trials and tribulations of young parenthood. It's lighter-hearted than it sounds and is generally feel-good.
Love Hina - harem anime in the tradition of Tenchi Muyo. College failure Keitaro finds himself the fortuitous manager of an all-girl dorm. Lots of fanservice and generally trite story, but if you're a guy who likes fanservice and a bit of romantic comedy, this is eminently watchable.
His and Her Circumstances - a bit more mature in the romantic comedy genre, this is decidedly not for the unsubtle. There's a bit of slapstick going on, but you need to be able to read reactions and event implications to appreciate this.
Please Teacher - alien earth monitor gets seen by a young high school boy in her true form. To maintain her cover and continue her mission, she gets involved in his life and they accidentally get married. The problem is that she's older and has a cover job as his teacher. More than a little weird, you have to have good suspension of disbelief to like this one; but assuming you do, it's okay.
Great Teacher Onizuka - stupid ********er Onizuka gets it into his head that being a teacher is a cool job. He gets in and proceeds to set straight the most absurdly evil bunch of teenagers you can imagine. It's very exaggerated for dramatic and comedic effect, but if you can sympathize with the situations, it has many moments.
Initial D - I would recommend this very highly. The graphic style is not typical for anime, and the computer graphics are now a bit dated, but for story, this one is great! Young tofu delivery driver Takumi discovers that his father has been secretly teaching him the ways of drift racing and he gets drawn into the illegal underground racing circuits.
Emma - a Victorian Romance - realistic portrayal of interclass romance in the Victorian age in England. Lots of attention to detail. Very nice.
Wing Chronicles - Princess Sakura's memories have been purged from her and if she is to survive, her friend Chaoran must travel through the dimensions and seek them out, one by one. There is some fair bit of fighting here, but mainly it's about finding little trinkets of magical power, which is what Sakura's memories have become.
Kino's Journey - very philosophical anime about one boy's journey through the world. It's episodic so you can watch any episode you like and still get most of it.
Slam Dunk and Dear BoyS - these are both highly recommended anime that I nevertheless couldn't like and never watched much. They're both basketball anime, but I gather that the main draw here is the romantic angle. Lots of girls like Dear BoyS.
There's tons and tons and tons of anime out there. Most of it is crap, but a large number is actually very good, probably just because there's a ton of the stuff out there. Shonen anime forms only a fraction of that number, and of that, only a fraction involves extensive and outrageous hand to hand fighting and mecha.
As far as I can tell, outside of shonen anime, mecha and fighting aren't even common anime elements - what little is shown comprises less than 20% of that particular show's airtime.
Certainly, I saw no hundred foot leaps and mega mecha in Grander Musashi.
Seriously, I think that if you consider DBZ to be the pinnacle of anime, you need to do yourself a favor and find a good show to watch - there's tons and tons of them out there. You can go a year watching only anime 8 hours a day 7 days a week before you run out of the best shows to watch.
Love Hina is an excellent anime too for anyone that hasen't watched it. I generally am a fan of ecchis, magical girl animes, good action shonens, and mature, bloody and philosophical seinens. I hate mechas though, blargh...
I remember watching CardCaptor as a kid, they canceled it fast for some reason (damn you Cartoon Network, damn you).
I also remember Sailor Moon as a kid, I used to think it was retarded, but looking back I do so miss it.
I remember watching CardCaptor as a kid, they canceled it fast for some reason (damn you Cartoon Network, damn you).
I'm so happy they did, Card Captors was terrible, they butchered the original show so horribly.
Hell no. Don't do it.
"IT'S A TRAAAAAAAAP!!!!"
Hey now, you're spoiling my fun.
Hey theres some good Yaoi out there.
Yuck, although yuri is nice.
It's one of the few non-Heroic Fantasy anime out there that I think would make a kickass campaign setting. It's a wide open world that really reminds me of the Points of Light setup (only the darkness is the ocean). The heroes form a party that fills different roles and will often work together in combat (they do pair off for the big fights, but normally there's a reason for splitting up). I regularly use it as an example for how healing surges, hit points, and other game mechanics work.
Surprised it hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet.
On a side note though probably the best western animation ive seen in recent years is Avatar which is sort of anime-ish but before that and what i think was a very good blend is Gendy Tartatovsky's works...Samurai Jack and so forth.
Damn it all this anime talk, might go rewatch Cowboy Bebop, though I'll wait till Predator is finished, to much of a classic to stop it half way.
There's a lot of great (not just good) anime that hasn't been mentioned here. The list is very, very, very long. Of course, there's also mounds and mounds of total crap, and many of the best anime isn't universally appealing, much like not everyone likes Sense and Sensibility, even though it is a very good Hollywood film nevertheless.
What irks me is that a lot of Western audiences only get tuned into the mass produced products-selling crap like Pokemon and DBZ and immediately assume that this is the best that anime has to offer, or even that most anime is like this.
It isn't, and I think people like you and I have an obligation to share our great experiences with anime to people who think that anime is only about giant robots and fighting men who call out their fighting moves while executing 70 foot jumps.
By type:
Dark: Evangelion and Noir - Speaking of Chemically enhanced, the guy who did Evangelion? He was on Methodone for large portions of the scripting. He'd been in a bad car accident, and gotten hooked on morphine in the hospital. So, yeah, that's part of why that's so crazy...
Comedy: Ranma 1/2 (Old school). Also, Irresposible Captain Tylor - So funny, I blacked out at parts from laughing so hard I couldn't breath.
Romantic Comedy: Love Hina - Freaking awesome series.
Things that got butchered in the American Release: Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura - The things they did to these... It was like watching someone butcher a kitten... I got the Uncut/unedited subtitled versions. You know, the ones with plot instead of suck. The ones where in cardcaptors, you realize at some point that the girl with the curly hair in Sakura's class has a psychotic level crush on the male teacher, and Sakura's brother is obviously having a relationship with Yukito. You know, that version.
Other: Detective Conan (AKA Case Closed) - This thing makes most episodes of CSI look tame. Seriously, first one I saw, they guy had killed this girl, and was carrying her severed head around in his sweater (had the shirt stuffed so he just looked fat). He was using it to fake her kidnapping and confuse the time and cause of her death.
Also, Slayers and Record of Lodoss war are musts for any D&D fan.
I kinda think that the same mindless censorship and misplaced parenting values in censorship killed the Cardcaptors translation and it's probably what's stunting mainstream American animation, keeping it from its full potential.
people who think that anime is only about giant robots and fighting men who call out their fighting moves while executing 70 foot jumps.
I'm confused are we talking about anime or Transformers/The Matrix?
I'm getting this really weird vibe from Cardcaptors. It's definitely not the same, which is why I specified Cardcaptor Sakura. I didn't think that Touya was getting it on with Yukito, but there was definitely something there. For that matter, there's definitely an attraction going on between Tomoyo and Sakura, and sometimes that's quite blatant onscreen.
I kinda think that the same mindless censorship and misplaced parenting values in censorship killed the Cardcaptors translation and it's probably what's stunting mainstream American animation, keeping it from its full potential.
If you read the Manga of CCS, it's really, REALY obvious that Touya and Yukito are having a close, physical relationship.
But then, keep in mind, CLAMP started out doing Yaoi Dojin of other popular series.
I'm also liking the Resevoir Chronicles Manga, haven't checked out the anime version yet.
I'm confused are we talking about anime or Transformers/The Matrix?
Were talking about Crysis.