Anime Recommendations Thread

[MasterDias]

I'm into fantasy/sci-fi/action. Can anyone give me a good anime to watch? Cus I'm stuck in a rut about what to watch right now. T_T

I'll throw out a The Twelve Kingdoms recommendation since anyone who enjoys fantasy should check out this show.

Otherwise, fantasy/sci-fi/action is really too broad without having examples of what you have seen...or post a MAL if you have one.

[Maokun]

Yeah, examples or limitants would be good. I'll throw in some oldies but really goodies:

Slayers: Fantasy + Comedy that manages to be very serious when it's not being hilarious.
Magic Knigh Rayearth: Georgeous character design, a solid story and plenty of twists. Also, Mechas in a fantasy-magical setting
Escaflowne: Another series with mechas in a fantastic setting. Lots of political intrigue, great characters and great morals.
The Record of Lodoss War: The fantasy anime by definition.
El-Hazard: This one also has a lot of comedy, but what I like the msot is the really good character development.

[RobinSena]

I have a quick question about the Ghost in the Shell movies and series. Is there a particular order in which these should be watched? Netflix has the original movie and the first season of the series on Instant Watch, but I wasn't sure if I needed to watch the second movie before starting the series..

Thanks in advance,
RobinSena

[Makachop^^128]

hey guys
I was wanting to watch a anime kinda like ergo proxy
political, intense, just a bit creepy and deep.
any recommendations?

[MasterDias]

I have a quick question about the Ghost in the Shell movies and series. Is there a particular order in which these should be watched? Netflix has the original movie and the first season of the series on Instant Watch, but I wasn't sure if I needed to watch the second movie before starting the series..

Thanks in advance,
RobinSena

The movies and TV series are set in different continuities. You don't need to watch one to see the other.

[Sheol777]

hey guys
I was wanting to watch a anime kinda like ergo proxy
political, intense, just a bit creepy and deep.
any recommendations?

Serial Experiments: Lain

[Makachop^^128]

Serial Experiments: Lain

ah thank u I was thinking about watching that ^^

[Maokun]

hey guys
I was wanting to watch a anime kinda like ergo proxy
political, intense, just a bit creepy and deep.
any recommendations?

*COUGHS*NGE*COUGHS*

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Alright, now that I've finished Gurren Lagann, I'm not sure what to watch. Does anyone have a good anime that from the start grabs you by the forehead and refuses to let go until you're done. Examples of this would be Gurren Lagann, Cowboy Bebop, and Ouran(Weird, eh. My favorite isn't on that list of.). Several anime I've tried out have had a cool intro and concept, and then it just kind of loses something in the episode 3-7ish range that I stop watching. Examples of this would include Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Wolf's Rain, Gundam00 all definitely count, and D.N. Angel could count, though I know from reading the manga that it gets better. So, any good ones for me?

[Riggidig]

Hi guys. I'm looking for some romantic anime, preferably where the guy and the girl start off only as friends and then realise that they love each other. Got any recommendations?

[blkmage]

Same categories as in the manga recommendations: (1) for meeting before the series starts, (2) for meeting during the series.

For (1), I guess there's Kanon (2006 by Kyoto Animation, not 2002 by Toei), True Tears, 5 Centimeters per Second, and Kimi-kiss. For (2), there's one of my favourites, Clannad and Clannad After Story. There's also Honey and Clover, Someday's Dreamers: Summer Skies, and Toradora!

Kanon is about a guy who moves to his cousin's place, where he last visited seven years ago and had a bunch of childhood friends. True Tears is about a girl who ends up living at her childhood friend's place for various reasons. Kimi-kiss is about a girl who returns to her hometown after some time. 5 Centimeters per Second is about two childhood friends who have to move away because of their parents' work.

Clannad is about a guy who doesn't get along with his dad and meets a really shy girl one day at the foot of a hill. Honey and Clover is about a bunch of art students. Someday's Dreamers: Summer Skies is about a girl who goes off to Tokyo for mage school. Toradora! is about a guy with a scary face and a violent girl who befriend each other and agree to help each other get together with each others' best friends who are their crushes.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Fine, ignore my requests blkmage.

[blkmage]

lolwut, I thought you were going to watch Eureka Seven, which counts.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I said that? I...can't seem to remember, but I'm not right now. The art kind of turns me off at the moment.

[blkmage]

In that case, I don't know if you've already seen Macross Frontier, but there's that. It's mecha and love triangles and intergalactic divas. For some stuff that's less conventional, there's Kaiba, which is set in a dystopian future in which memories are transferrable. But, the weird art style might not be to your liking. Finally, there's Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, a horror/mystery. If you do decide to try this one, make sure you watch the first four episodes before deciding on it.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Alright. Does Macross require knowledge of previous series?

[MasterDias]

Alright, now that I've finished Gurren Lagann, I'm not sure what to watch. Does anyone have a good anime that from the start grabs you by the forehead and refuses to let go until you're done. Examples of this would be Gurren Lagann, Cowboy Bebop, and Ouran(Weird, eh. My favorite isn't on that list of.). Several anime I've tried out have had a cool intro and concept, and then it just kind of loses something in the episode 3-7ish range that I stop watching. Examples of this would include Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Wolf's Rain, Gundam00 all definitely count, and D.N. Angel could count, though I know from reading the manga that it gets better. So, any good ones for me?

Well, Samurai Champloo is an obvious recommendation. It had the same director as Cowboy Bebop.

As far as anime being "gripping," that can sort of be subjective as people have different tastes but try Macross Frontier, Noein, Read or Die, Last Exile...
Pandora Hearts is still airing, but I've found it quite engaging.

Alright. Does Macross require knowledge of previous series?

No, they are all set in the same world, but they are set years/decades apart and star different characters.

[Riggidig]

Same categories as in the manga recommendations: (1) for meeting before the series starts, (2) for meeting during the series.

For (1), I guess there's Kanon (2006 by Kyoto Animation, not 2002 by Toei), True Tears, 5 Centimeters per Second, and Kimi-kiss. For (2), there's one of my favourites, Clannad and Clannad After Story. There's also Honey and Clover, Someday's Dreamers: Summer Skies, and Toradora!

Kanon is about a guy who moves to his cousin's place, where he last visited seven years ago and had a bunch of childhood friends. True Tears is about a girl who ends up living at her childhood friend's place for various reasons. Kimi-kiss is about a girl who returns to her hometown after some time. 5 Centimeters per Second is about two childhood friends who have to move away because of their parents' work.

Clannad is about a guy who doesn't get along with his dad and meets a really shy girl one day at the foot of a hill. Honey and Clover is about a bunch of art students. Someday's Dreamers: Summer Skies is about a girl who goes off to Tokyo for mage school. Toradora! is about a guy with a scary face and a violent girl who befriend each other and agree to help each other get together with each others' best friends who are their crushes.

Thanks blkmage.

[CrimsonRyu17]

Pandora Hearts is still airing, but I've found it quite engaging.

Do yourself a favor and stop watching at ep 22 of it if you get that far. They've decided to stray from the manga and create their own little ending, which is absolutely horrible. 23 is when it strays, I highly suggest picking up where the manga left off from it.

[MasterDias]

Do yourself a favor and stop watching at ep 22 of it if you get that far. They've decided to stray from the manga and create their own little ending, which is absolutely horrible. 23 is when it strays, I highly suggest picking up where the manga left off from it.

But were people really expecting a second season? Seriously? This is Xebec we are talking about here, and a continuation would be really rare coming from another studio. And it's almost caught up to the manga...
I think fans should be grateful that it was this close to the manga for almost the entire series whereas it could have completely diverged half-a-dozen or so episodes ago.

I'm not necessarily expecting an amazing ending from the anime, but neither am I particularly against an anime-original ending since I knew it was basically inevitable for this series.

[CrimsonRyu17]

I'm not necessarily expecting an amazing ending from the anime, but neither am I particularly against an anime-original ending since I knew it was basically inevitable for this series.

I wouldn't be so against it if the characters haven't had been flipped and the story contradicted so badly that it won't make any darn sense. Mochizuki Jun obviously wanted every little thing that doesn't make sense to make sense in the end. So far, she's doing an amazing job with the manga. Now all those little details in the anime will mean nothing.

[RobinSena]

The movies and TV series are set in different continuities. You don't need to watch one to see the other.

Alright, thanks. =)

[Lilac#18]

Any good anime about a high school girl as the main character with a sword? And another anime with a high school boy who gets bullied then learns martial arts?

[blkmage]

Any good anime about a high school girl as the main character with a sword?

Closest thing I can think of is Shakugan no Shana. A show that qualifies that probably isn't what you're looking for is Bamboo Blade.

[MasterDias]

Any good anime about a high school girl as the main character with a sword?

Shakugan no Shana

And another anime with a high school boy who gets bullied then learns martial arts?

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple



Did you already have certain anime titles in mind? Your statements strike me as somewhat specific.

[Tsukuyomi]

Any good anime about a high school girl as the main character with a sword? And another anime with a high school boy who gets bullied then learns martial arts?

For the girl as the main character one, you might want to look into Shakugan no Shana ^^

[spoiler]Sakai Yuuiji thought he was a normal high school student, until one fateful day when time stopped. Watching in horror, he witnesses a monster devouring the "frozen" people around him]

For the second one, you may want to check out Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn ^^

[spoiler]Middle school student Tsuna has always gone through life in last place; but when he learns that he is getting a tutor to help him raise his game, he had no idea that his benefactor would turn out to be... an infant and a mafia hitman?! As if things can’t get much stranger, Tsuna then discovers that the powerful Vongola family has chosen him to be its next successor – a position that has control over all mafia families. Joined by friends Tsuna unwillingly starts out on his path to becoming a mafia boss – if he can survive the training.[/spoiler]

Sorry if that's not what you're looking for.. That's what came up when I put the search in ;___;

[Lilac#18]

Shakugan no Shana


Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple



Did you already have certain anime titles in mind? Your statements strike me as somewhat specific.

Yes, I was thinking of Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. Kaze No Stigma was on my mind too.

Thank you MasterDias. And thank you Tsuki and blkmage for your suggestions too.

[Scarecrow]

Is the Ninja Scroll tv series any good? I was on youtube and saw the opening sequence thing and I dunno, the music I thought was awesome ^_^ (It reminded me of like some kind of nintendo/SNES game tune) so I wanted to check it out. I've never saw Ninja Scroll the movie but I've heard about it... and people on here don't seem to be too favorable of that but what about the series?

And if not, something else out there in a similar vein. I'm in the mood for a good samurai/ninja/feudal Japan, type anime like Basilisk and Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal.

[Zoan]

Wow. 25 pages. And I see a lot of stuff. But since it's kinda crazy all around can someone shoot me a few of the best humorous anime/manga out there? I like to laugh.

[Tsukuyomi]

Wow. 25 pages. And I see a lot of stuff. But since it's kinda crazy all around can someone shoot me a few of the best humorous anime/manga out there? I like to laugh.

One that comes to mind is Azumanga Daioh and the second would be School Rumble ^__^ These two had me rofling even after I was done with an episode XDDD