I used to watch quite a bit. These days, I generally prefer reading their source material. I just prefer knowing details and what characters are thinking instead of just the action. The only exceptions being animes that are so well adapted it basically covers the original source fully. Monster would be a perfect example of this.
...wtf? How long did you spend on this post? I felt like I was reading a full length novel. Good stuff though. Don't remember if I posted before, but my favorite animes (ignoring their corresponding mangas) are: Rurouni Kenshin Gundam Wing Full Metal Alchemist Naruto Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad DBZ ...probably some others I'm forgetting Granted, I'm not an anime nut, so there's probably a bunch of great one's I've never even heard about.
...and even with great adaptations, that manga is often still better. What is true of books and adapted films/TV series is still true of comic books and their film adaptations. I did like the Monster TV series... but having read the manga first, I preferred the comic. Besides, I think those kind of mystery/thriller stories lend themselves more to books and comics in the first place. Same thing with Death Note... great TV series, better manga. And with Akira... although in that case the film is so cut down that it's pretty much indecipherable, good as it is anyway. People who are confused by Akira really should read the manga... it makes so much more sense. I would recommend checking out Mushi-Shi, though... in that case, I think that anime is actually superior to the manga by quite a bit. The original manga actually wasn't drawn all that well. But the anime is spectacular. Probably my second-favorite series after Texhnolyze. While I'm at it, I should mention that my two favorite mangas are Berserk and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, although these two are pretty much polar opposites. I also dig the aforementioned Death Note, Akira, and Monster, as well as X/1999, Hellsing, and Vagabond. Incidentally, have you read 20th Century Boys? Same author as Monster, but I've never gotten around to that one. I tend to watch more anime than I read manga nowadays.
Beck was certainly an interesting one, and it's certainly the black sheep amongst the ones you listed. I picked that up off a friend's recommendation. Very down-to-earth, real story. Although there was some unintentional comedy in the Japanese audio version from some of the characters who were supposed to be native English speakers, but very clearly weren't. I hear the dub is good though, I feel I need to watch it again. Rurouni Kenshin... you know, I watched 20 episodes of that, and it was okay, but it was nothing I was crazy about. BUT... have you seen the OVA's? Specifically, Trust and Betrayal? Now THAT'S great stuff. It's basically a prequel to the TV series. There's another OVA, Reflection, that acts as an epilogue to the series. Not quite as good as the prequel, but still very good indeed. Both have great animation, and possibly the greatest orchestral scores in any anime ever... Taku Iwasaki is a genius, I own both the OSTs. And yeah, that post did take a little while. Probably a few hours. But I do take anime very seriously. I think I feel like I'm sort of an ambassador for it, since I feel there's a lot of people who only know about a very narrow range of anime, people who consider "anime" to be all one genre. But unlike in the states, where animation is usually for kids, Japan has plenty of animation aimed at adults, and in many different genres. I really think there's an anime for everybody if you can find the right one(s). So I try to provide as much information as possible.
Lots of good recommendations, though I've seen them all you listed for me (and liked them). I'll check out your other recommendations. I've seen around 80% of them and forgot most of them. I like anime that makes you think and I remember some of your recs are pretty solid even if I hazily remember some of them from 8-10 years ago. I'm not into hs drama animes though more sci-fi (GitS, Gantz, Paranoia Agent), political (Legend of Galactic Heroes) or mindless action (Berserk, Gantz, Naruto). And you should read 20th Century Boys. I've never heard of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou but I hope it has an end in sight unlike Berserk. As for the 2nd Kenshin OVA, it was butchered pretty badly. He took the second half of the manga series, threw nearly everything out and ruined Kenshin's character. And don't knock Naruto. It's my guilty pleasure. Of course he always wins, but the attachment is with the characters and the twists within the universe. Bleach is far more bland imo.
1. Beck was one of the few I watched before reading. Per usual, the manga was much better than the manga, but the music was actually really good if you ignore the horrible grammar/accents. Have any recommendations for similar music themed anime/manga? Something more realistic like Beck, not one where their guitars have special powers and crap. 2. Yea I've watched/read everything related to Kenshin. I was pretty obsessed in high school...
Yes I should! Actually, YKK is over, so no worries there. And it hasn't been brought to the states at all, so you can download scanlations guilt-free. You can't get it any other way. I must admit that Berserk is now getting annoying. Miura is publishing at an absurdly slow rate, and it was all downhill after the hill of swords in volume 23 anyway (or was it volume 22? Somewhere around there...). I've neither read the manga nor watched the entire series, so I'll have to take your word for it. I thought it was fine as a stand-alone story, although the prequel OVA was clearly better. You know, I own that entire series, but I've been too scared to start watching it, because it's 140 episodes long and I'm afraid I'll get sucked in. I watched the first two or three episodes and it looked really interesting. Meh, I didn't mean to knock it. It's just not really for me. As I said, I do like D.Gray-Man and FMA, so I'm not anti-shounen or anything. You said you like animes that make you think... in that case, I think we're pretty much on the same page. If you haven't seen Texhnolyze, please please please watch that one. Not just because it's rather extraordinarily thought-provoking, but because I don't actually understand all aspects of it. There's so much going on that it's hard to get your head around it. If you could watch it, maybe two heads are better than one, and you could explain some things to me that I don't get. Besides that, I'll re-emphasize Mushi-Shi, Kino's Journey, and Ergo Proxy as thought-provoking, if you haven't seen any of those. Also, a few others I haven't mentioned. The studio Brain's Base has come out with some really interesting series in recent years, particularly Baccano! and Durarara!!, the latter of which was only fully released in English this last May. I watched a fansub myself, but they've got some all-star voices in there (Steve Blum, Crispin Freeman, Johnny Yong Bosch, Michelle Ruff, Patrick Seitz, to name a few) so I'm anxious to see the English version. In any case, both of those are odd shows, told non-chronologically, with a fair bit to chew on, although they're more mystery-oriented than philosophical. Also, Eden of the East is a relatively recent (2009) show directed by Kenji Kamiyama of Production I.G., who also directed Moribito and both seasons of Ghost in the Shell... what better credentials could he have? It's got a really fascinating premise; basically a dude with no memory finds he has a phone with something like $80 million dollars on it, and he's in a competition with about a dozen others to use the money to fix Japan's social problems. Great mystery, social commentary, the whole ball of wax. There are also two movies that wrap up the 13-episode series, but I found those less compelling than the series itself.
<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/__Mcc7ZYPcc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> You mean like these boobs dodging a bullet?
To me, animes and other on-screen adapations have the inherent advantage of being easier to watch. Reading is, well, more work. So if an adaptation follows things to the letter, then I generally prefer watching over reading. Also, I want to say I almost don't read mangas anymore. When I say source material, I usually meant light novels and in some cases, visual novels. I'm just more fond of details that you don't see in animes or most mangas. Monster, Death Note, and several others are exceptions due to their attention to details. Some stuff off the top of my head. Light novels that have been adapted into animes I like include Suzumiya Haruhi series, Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, Kami-sama no Memo-chou, Legend of Legendary Heroes. Visual novels would include the godly Fate Stay/Night, Steins Gate, Umineko, Higurashi, etc.
Sadly, I don't really know of any other music-themed animes like Beck. It really is pretty unique so far as I know. I CAN recommend some things that are a little more down-to-earth than your average anime in terms of the characters and story. Welcome to the NHK is a series largely concerned with Japan's social problems, including the large number of NEETs (people who are Not in Employment, Education, or Training). It's about a college-aged shut-in who is somewhat of a conspiracy theorist. He's slowly drawn out by a younger girl neighbor, as well as a high school buddy who wants to design ero-games (erotic games). The show is about the main character's social awkwardness, and the possibility of emerging into the larger world. Genshiken is about as down-to-earth as you're going to get. It's basically a show about college-aged manga and anime nerds. Very meta that way. They do cosplay, draw doujins, go to conventions, watch shows together, and eventually try to find jobs after college. The previously-discussed Monster is a murder mystery/thriller, but really no magic powers in it or anything like that. Pretty compelling stuff, and the manga's even better. I haven't seen Ghost Hound in quite a while, and it does have some spirit-world type of stuff, but it's basically about a troubled kid who had some trauma in his childhood, and the school counselor/psychologist is trying various things to help him get past it. I actually learned some Jung and Freud watching this show. Anyway, sorry if that's not much help. There's just not really anything like Beck that I know about.
Yeah, you know, I had actually seen this bit in an AMV I downloaded. Sheer ridiculousness. Of course, sheer ridiculousness can be fun sometimes. Speaking of AMVs, I have quite a large collection of those, as well. The best one I've yet seen is called "Memory Flash 3: Into the Mirror," and can be downloaded here if anyone is interested (I'd recommend right-clicking and saving it... it's 185mb mp4). If you'd prefer the (larger and lower-quality) avi, that can be had here (323mb). I'm embedding a YouTube version of it below, but trust me, it's worth it to download the larger version and go full-screen with some headphones on this one. <iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/53Sep09W2i0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Just spectacular stuff. These guys should be making money for doing stuff like that.
Sweet. Will look into it. Thanks a bunch! What about historical or quasi-historical stuff? I'm in the middle of Vagabond right now. Absolutely amazing.
I guess that's what happens when you have a guy take a break from hentai to draw some "regular" stuff. He just can't get away from his bread and butter.
Oh God, Vagabond... yeah, that's one's probably third on my list of favorite manga after Berserk and YKK, but not by much. Spectacular art, spectacular story. And the fights... I especially love the Hozoin staff guy around volume 5 or so, and all the build-up around the rematch. Very, very cool stuff. As for historical/quasi-historical... there is one I can mention, but I almost hesitate to because it could have been so much better than it actually is. It's called Le Chevalier d'Eon, and it is on Netflix streaming if you happen to subscribe to that service. It's historical fiction about a real historical figure, d'Éon de Beaumont, who was a French diplomat, spy, and soldier. He spent the second half of his life undercover as woman. In the show, however, this is interpreted as d'Éon having a real sister who comes back as a spirit that occasionally comes back and inhabits his body as he tries to solve a conspiracy. Altogether, there is too much emphasis on the supernatural magic stuff and not enough on the historical aspects, which is why I find the show so frustrating. But it's a good show overall, despite my gripes. The ending sequence is one of my favorite parts of show (see embedded video below), and plays a haunting song as it runs through the birth and death dates of the real characters who appeared in the show, including d'Éon himself, Louis XV, the Marquise de Pompadour, Marie Leszczyńska, and Philippe d'Orléans. <iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yubuJU78Fjc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> EDIT: Well, geez, how did I forget about Grave of the Fireflies? There's a film that certainly qualifies as historical fiction, originally based on a book written by a guy who tried to survive with his sister in post-WWII Japan after his mother's death during a bomb raid. It's directed by Isao Takahata of Studio Ghibli fame (he co-founded the studio along with Miyazaki), and this is probably his finest work. Roger Ebert wrote a wonderful review of it as part of his ongoing "Great Movies" feature. In any case, if you haven't seen it, you should. A few pull-quotes from Ebert's review: "Grave of the Fireflies" is an emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation. Since the earliest days, most animated films have been "cartoons" for children and families. Recent animated features such as "The Lion King," "Princess Mononoke" and "The Iron Giant" have touched on more serious themes, and the "Toy Story" movies and classics like "Bambi" have had moments that moved some audience members to tears. But these films exist within safe confines; they inspire tears, but not grief. "Grave of the Fireflies" is a powerful dramatic film that happens to be animated, and I know what the critic Ernest Rister means when he compares it to "Schindler's List" and says, "It is the most profoundly human animated film I've ever seen. ... Because it is animated and from Japan, "Grave of the Fireflies" has been little seen. When anime fans say how good the film is, nobody takes them seriously. Now that it's available on DVD with a choice of subtitles or English dubbing, maybe it will find the attention it deserves. Yes, it's a cartoon, and the kids have eyes like saucers, but it belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made. EDIT 2: Oh yeah, and of course, there's Emma: A Victorian Romance, which I had already mentioned as a favorite of mine... as long as you don't mind victorian romances! I found it quite compelling, myself. The Japanese take on victorian stodginess! Odd and sad that it never got dubbed in English, since it does, after all, take place in England.
You know, I did watch the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and I did really enjoy it, although it's not in my top 10 or anything. But I must say, that first episode -- Episode 0 -- might be the single most brilliant anime episode I've ever seen. At first I watched it and didn't really get it. Then I started to watch the rest of the show, figured out the context, and then... wow. Talk about epitomizing tongue-in-cheek. Just incredible.
