Anime Recommendations Thread

[That Dude]

I would put Kino's Journey just a little ahead of Gunslinger Girl...

Kino's is very episodic and existentialist and Gunsliger Girl is good but slower and basically just a "slice of life" show.

[Fish and Chips]

I don't know anything about Gunslinger Girl, but Kino's Journey is pretty good. I picked it up as a blind purchase a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, though you have to remember that the last episode in the series is not the last episode chronologically.

Basically, it follows a young traveler named Kino and her talking motorcycle, Hermes, as they go around and visit various locales, usually one per episode. Each country they visit tends to have interesting rules or odd cultural strains (usually exagerated for effect), and it ends up asking questions about things they've run into. Not answering them, just asking them; it's up to you to answer them.

My only complaint with the series is that Kino is very objectively distant and impartial to everything she encounters, including several scenes that make you wish she got more involved. Still, it's a good series I can safely recommend to just about anyone.

[PokettoKunoichi]

I'd like any anime that explores socially taboo subjects in sympathetic ways. Comedy is a plus!

[EricTheFred]

Yep, another anime questions thread.
Hopefully this time around it's a little more understandible.

The things I don't like most are bad religion, sexual content, extensive gorey violence, and nudity.

Rozen Maiden (I've watched the opening and this one looks a bit dark, I'm not to sure about it.)
Letter Bee (This is a show I heard people talking about and it sounds good, I just want to ask to make sure it doesn't have anything bad in it.)
Pani Poni Dash! (I know this show is extrememly funny but usually with this type of show it goes hand-in-hand with some crud humor. Help?)
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! (Anything? I don't think so but you never know.)
Gakuen Alice (I saw from the opening that there was some fortune teller... where does that lead?)
Tales from Earthsea (Studio Ghibli film, probably amazing. But I still need to know.)
Howl's Moving Castle (Same with the one above.)
Code Geass (This one I'm really wondering about since I heard someone say it had ecchi in the second season. I want to watch this with my little bother so please tell me about any bad content in it.)
Lost Universe (Anything in it? This one I don't know much about, just that the budget was low.)
Yumeiro Pâtissière (A very new show but hopefully someone has watched it. Help.)
Bamboo Blade (Looks pretty good, so thats why I want to check it out but, it better not have crud humor in it.)
Digi Charat (A crazy show! But for some reason I just want to check it out.... Anything?)
Clamp School Detectives (I watched the first episode and it oddly reminds me of Saint Tail... But still I want to make sure it doesn't have any bad content.)
Sakura Taisen (I know the first opening to this is amazing so I really want to check it out. Please tell me anything bad in it.)
Mermaid Melody (This show looks really cute but again, in the opening I saw a fortune teller, and it looks like she plays a big roll. Please help me out on this.)
Romio x Juliet (Anything bad?)

Thanks and please reply.

Moved this here from your thread.
Pani Poni Dash - Hilarious. Uproarious. Not too bad with respect to any of your care-abouts, but a fair amount of 'Cartoon' violence. If Roadrunner doesn't upset you, shouldn't be a problem.

Howl's Moving Castle is not one of the better Ghibli's, but not bad. If they hadn't put out things like Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away first, I'm sure it would have looked a lot better.

Tales from Earthsea strongly disappointed the woman who wrote the books. And it isn't like nothing on screen would please her; in a TV interview of her, I learned she was utterly delighted with the made-for-public-TV rendition of "Lathe of Heaven".

I've only seen individual eps of most of the rest, so I defer to others.

[AngelicTotoro]

The things I don't like most are bad religion, sexual content, extensive gorey violence, and nudity.

Rozen Maiden (I've watched the opening and this one looks a bit dark, I'm not to sure about it.)
Letter Bee (This is a show I heard people talking about and it sounds good, I just want to ask to make sure it doesn't have anything bad in it.)
Pani Poni Dash! (I know this show is extrememly funny but usually with this type of show it goes hand-in-hand with some crud humor. Help?)
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! (Anything? I don't think so but you never know.)
Gakuen Alice (I saw from the opening that there was some fortune teller... where does that lead?)
Tales from Earthsea (Studio Ghibli film, probably amazing. But I still need to know.)
Howl's Moving Castle (Same with the one above.)
Code Geass (This one I'm really wondering about since I heard someone say it had ecchi in the second season. I want to watch this with my little bother so please tell me about any bad content in it.)
Lost Universe (Anything in it? This one I don't know much about, just that the budget was low.)
Yumeiro Pâtissière (A very new show but hopefully someone has watched it. Help.)
Bamboo Blade (Looks pretty good, so thats why I want to check it out but, it better not have crud humor in it.)
Digi Charat (A crazy show! But for some reason I just want to check it out.... Anything?)
Clamp School Detectives (I watched the first episode and it oddly reminds me of Saint Tail... But still I want to make sure it doesn't have any bad content.)
Sakura Taisen (I know the first opening to this is amazing so I really want to check it out. Please tell me anything bad in it.)
Mermaid Melody (This show looks really cute but again, in the opening I saw a fortune teller, and it looks like she plays a big roll. Please help me out on this.)
Romio x Juliet (Anything bad?)

Thanks and please reply.



I moved my post to this thread, sorry about everything.

Thanks, EricTheFred for your reply.

[steenajack]

Alright, AngelicTotoro-san, I haven't seen all of those. I have seen Howl's Moving Castle though, which my family thought was AWESOME!!! Everyone we've shown it to wanted to watch it again RIGHT AFTER JUST SEEING IT! This show has VERY little objectional content in it at all. There is some magic use, but it's totally fantasy (in my opinion). I understand though that some people are sensitive to that. But if you enjoyed Miyazaki's other movies there shouldn't be anything in here that you would find downright blasphemous or anything. I'd say it's about the same level as watching Spirited Away, maybe a level lower. As for violence, there is no blood/gore. (Well there is a VERY MINOR amount of blood in one scene, but nothing unrealistic or gross).There is suspense, fires, war battles and explosions, but nothing that you would probably be offended by. I only recall one MINOR and HUMOROUS scene of nudity. NOTHING EXPLICIT IS SHOWN I PROMISE. And I'm almost positive that you will not be offended by it. My Neighbor Totoro is probably worse with that one bath scene, and that scene (in my opinion) isn't even horrible by the way they portrayed it.(very innocent). So, with that said, I hope I was of some help to you. They actually have a review for the anime here, if you'd like to read them:
http://www.christiananime.net/reviews_anime.php?display=195
and here's another, just so you can get a second opinion
http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=850
Both people who reviewed it take a bit of a negative tone when describing how they felt about it. But you know, different people have different tastes. You may adore the movie (like I do), you may just like it, or you may not like it . You never know until you try.

[blkmage]

Manabi Straight is set in a future where declining birth rates have lead to the closure and amalgamation of high schools across the country. It's about the student council of one of these schools and their goal to revive the school's yearly school festival. It's a fantastic show, comparable to Aria, about optimism and overcoming personal challenges.

Bamboo Blade is similar, about a group of students trying to revive their kendo club and make it to the nationals. It's more of a comedy than Manabi Straight and I'm pretty sure there's nothing objectionable in it.

Code Geass is about a former prince committing acts of terrorism against his state to bring down his family's oppressive rule. Very Death Note cross Gundam in terms of style and subject matter. You'll pretty much want to stay away from it because of the fanservice, in addition to the moral grey areas that the show explores.

I haven't watched Yumeiro Patisserie but it's guaranteed to be safe since it's a children's show.

[steenajack]

I've got a question about the anime Pretear. What is the content on it exactly? Would it be safe for say....a ten-year-old to watch?

[Wyntre Rose]

The only questionable thing that comes to mind about Pretear is the transformation sequences. As in most magical girl transformations, Himeno is nude and it is undetailed, though the camera does pan up her entire body and it may be a little closer than most. The other thing that makes it a little iffy is that fact that she is transforming together with another character each time - always a male, and there are 7 different guys she does this with, some of them are very young - and they are just as nude as she is, though the camera only shows them from the chest up, I do believe. They meld together - the show calls this "preting" and the male character is absorbed into Himeno each time. This is explicitly said several times to the weirded out Himeno that this melding is not sexual at all. In other words, if you watch the first transformation scene and it doesn't bother you, you probably won't have a problem with it. Language and violence are pretty minimal, since this is a retelling of Snow White.

Oh, and one of Himeno's sisters consistently tries to seduce men by forcing them to serve her, and give her a towel as she steps out of the shower - it's played as a gag, since she never succeeds, and I don't think we see any of her a bathing suit wouldn't show.

[steenajack]

Okay, I may just have to test it out and see for myself. I may just read the manga.

[steenajack]

Okay, I really would like to try out some more anime. I've got a few titles here:
Le Chevalier D'Eon
Bamboo Blade
Mushishi
Kaleido Star
Saiunkoku Monogatari

I'm also looking for CLEAN titles that have Vic Mignogna in it. I hear he's a pretty good actor, and I'd like to see what all the fuss is about. When I say clean, I mean no sexual content (minor innuendo is okay, depending on how it's portrayed), no nudity/fanservice (undetailed-type nudity is fine, as well as non-sexual bath scenes such as in My Neighbor Totoro) Little to no cussing (about the level of Haibane Renmei or something like that) No excessive gory/bloody violence (unless it's just realistic violence with a realistic amount of blood such as in Twelve Kingdoms or Lord of the Rings. I just don't want to see anything like Princess Mononoke) I'm fine with religious content so long as it dosn't contain weird philosophies/witchcraft/anything that would blaspheme God. Magic is fine so long as it's not like Harry Potter. Something like Avatar the Last Airbender won't bother me. I tried DN Angel, and wasn't too sure about it (can't stand Risa). I am going to give Angelic Layer and Tsubasa Chronicle a shot.
Anyway, if anyone can help that would be great.

[Wyntre Rose]

I've seen most of Saiunkoku Monogatari, and a bit of Kaleido Star and I think they'd be right up your ally!!:thumbsup: Saiunkoku especially is excellent!

Mushishi I have seen all the way through, and I would recommend it to anyone, it's one of my all time faves. It does get a little creepy at times, though so maybe screen the episodes before you watch it with little ones. They're episodic, so if one or two of them would be too scary it won't hurt their understanding of the series to skip them.

As far as Vic is concerned, if you want to hear him at his best, Fullmetal Alchemist is the way to go. The language is maybe a bit more frequent than you'd like, though. Doesn't go further than a** if memory serves me right, but d*** probably happens every other episode or so if not more frequently. Nudity is nearly non-existant, except in the movie - which many people shun anyway - and it is undetailed and non sexual. The alchemy is probably the only thing that would make me hesitant to recommend this to you whole-heartedly. I'm not sure what you would classify as magic that isn't like Harry Potter, but the alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist is a science to them, they don't consider it magic at all. If you watch the first episode, it has the most creepy/disturbing scene of alchemy usage in the whole series. If you're fine with that, you won't have a problem with the rest. Violence is certainly present (it IS shounen after all) but if you don't mind LotR, you shouldn't find FMA objectionable.

Other than that, Ouran High School Host Club comes to mind. Hardly any language at all, no nudity, slapstick violence only, and no magic - except for one character who only shows up a few times and is a "black magic" club member. It's not taken very seriously, he doesn't actually do any magic, and it's certainly not promoting black magic at all! The only thing you may not like is there is a set of twins who pretend to be a yaoi couple for the (in-show) fangirls. They aren't really, they're just goofing around, though. I'd say if you can handle that, though, you'd love Ouran. I haven't met anyone yet who doesn't. It's really one of the best shoujo anime I've seen yet. There's a more detailed synopsis of it in the reviews section.

[steenajack]

But I read on the review here for Full Metal Alchemist that there was some nudity, and an implied love-scene. I MIGHT be more inclined towards Ouran, but I'm not totally sure...hmmm. Thanks for the help though. I will try out the other series.

[That Dude]

Though there's a some cussing and a very tiny bit of fanservice you might want to check out Last Exile.

Also if you haven't seen it you need to check out Robotech: The Macross Saga

Noein: To Your Other Self
It's PG level but succeeds in being very enthralling and also kinda dark and creepy.

Witch Hunter Robin
No fanservice, lighter on the language, and the though it has to do with magic, it's very light, actually it's dealt with in a much more XMen like manner almost like it's a mutation.

Comic Party
This would also fit your standards, except don't bother to watch the OVA, besides that it fits your criteria pretty well.

Giant Robo

[steenajack]

Thanks Dude for your input. I'll be sure to check some of these out.

[That Dude]

You're welcome Steen.

[MasterDias]

Based on your criteria, you should probably skip Le Chevalier D'Eon. It's a fairly dark series, and has quite a bit of weird imagery and a heavy mystical undercurrent.

Anyway, as far as Vic Mignogna is concerned, he was the male lead (or rather, the most-important male character) in Princess Nine, a baseball-drama about an all-girls baseball team. I think it should largely fit your criteria (except maybe the language; there was a fair amount of mild swearing at a few places). There is a review on this site. And, no, you don't really have to like baseball to enjoy this show. However, this might be hard to find as it has been out-of-print for awhile.

And, I suppose I'll throw this out there as a mention. Vic was the male lead in the (relatively) recent ADV-dub of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. It's a largely TV-PG show. There's like one brief scene of rear nudity in an early episode(and none for the rest of the series) and occasional language, but the violence is largely spaceship/mech battles.

These are both sort of the lesser known of Mignogna's major roles, I think.

[steenajack]

Thank you very much. :3 BTW: What about RahXephon? Is that one good?

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

But I read on the review here for Full Metal Alchemist that there was some nudity, and an implied love-scene. I MIGHT be more inclined towards Ouran, but I'm not totally sure...hmmm. Thanks for the help though. I will try out the other series.

About FMA, the only nudity is a child, and it's from the side. The implied love-scene can be missed if you blink at the right time, as well.

[Jeikobu]

Hi! I have three requests that I'd be delighted to see filled. Please, if you have any ideas, let me know!

1) I'm looking for a good fantasy anime, one that's more godly and spiritually clean. I LOVE fantasy. Unfortunately, fantasy often invites witchcraft and bad religion, especially when it comes from places like Japan. I've seen lots of fantasy in my time, but most of it I have problems with, usually to an extreme. Here are the fantasy anime I've seen:
-Cardcaptor Sakura (like the characters, emotion, writing, and music a lot, but let's face it, it's full of problems. Not only is it packed with sorcery, but it tries to put a deceptively cute and friendly label on it)
-Fullmetal Alchemist (I guess you could call that a fantasy) (like the same things I do with CCS, but this also has a lot of issues, largely to do with the alchemy)
-Howl's Moving Castle (lots of sorcery, not to mention demons)
-Inuyasha (filled with Shintouism)
-Laputa: Castle in the Sky (not quite the kind of fantasy I'm looking for, but this one at least is quite good)
-A Little Snow Fairy Sugar (I'm looking for something a lot more epic than this)
-Naruto (never again! Way too much underlying new age stuff. When it started getting too much into demons and junk, I finally had it)
-Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (good one. Not quite what I'm after, but close)
-Neon Genesis Evangelion (worst anime I've ever seen)
-Pocket Monsters (it has problems but is still my all time favorite anime)
-Pom Poko (too much Shintouism and Buddhism)
-Princess Mononoke (blasphemous and FILLED with false gods and junk)
-Spirited Away (excellent imagination and storytelling but far too much on the sorcery and false gods)
-Tsubasa Chronicle (would be a STRONG favorite if not for all the sorcery...argh)
-X TV (way too spiritually dark, and lots of sorcery and bad imagery...ugh, glad I dropped this one)

As you can see, not much luck. Outside of Japan I can always enjoy things like Narnia and LOTR, but I want something that reaches me where me heart is. Any ideas, please?

2) Ok I'm kind of sick of not finding what I want and so I'm hoping to find some help here. Please don't make fun or anything like that. I know this'll sound funny.
I like seeing female characters with false nails. It's not common in anime, which is odd since there's a big fanbase in Japan for that. For the ones that do have characters with them, the problem is they fall victim to the typical stereotypes, i.e.: the character is a tramp, a vampire, a witch, or some other ungodly, evil thing. They also are almost always antagonists, and I'm so sick of that occurrence I could just puke. So far the only anime that really has pleased me in this area is Super Gals, and although it often feels as though the character just sport the nails because it's the Gal code or something, it beats everything else I've found. Please, I'd really appreciate any assistance on this.

3) While we're on the subject of stereotypes, I'd like to see more anime defeating most other stereotypes we see, though it's hard to think of too many examples. I would like to see more biracial relationships. I'm also sick of glasses and/or braces signifying a nerd (this could also go for fat characters).

Thanks everyone for your time with this!

[Jeikobu]

Thank you very much. :3 BTW: What about RahXephon? Is that one good?

Check out the review for this one.

Even beyond its content problems, all I can say is I remember when I wanted to see this one and I prayed about it for a while and really wasn't sure, and then one night I watched the trailer again and God turned on the lights for me! I had one of the strongest feelings of negative conviction from the Spirit I think I've ever had. There's no way I can recommend this one to anyone!

[MasterDias]

Hi! I have three requests that I'd be delighted to see filled. Please, if you have any ideas, let me know!

1) I'm looking for a good fantasy anime, one that's more godly and spiritually clean. I LOVE fantasy. Unfortunately, fantasy often invites witchcraft and bad religion, especially when it comes from places like Japan. I've seen lots of fantasy in my time, but most of it I have problems with, usually to an extreme. Here are the fantasy anime I've seen:

As you can see, not much luck. Outside of Japan I can always enjoy things like Narnia and LOTR, but I want something that reaches me where me heart is. Any ideas, please?

I suppose you could try The Twelve Kingdoms. It's influenced by Chinese mythology, so gods are referenced, but largely as background information and I don't remember it being very in-your-face about it. It's a pretty epic show though, if that's what you're looking for.

Otherwise, I'm not really sure what to recommend to you. Deities and magic are pretty standard for the fantasy genre, on any continent. I think Record of Lodoss War took its influences largely from Western-style fantasy/RPGs, but again, I'm pretty certain that would have gods and magic. The Western fantasy just tends to borrow from European mythological traditions rather than Japanese/Chinese ones.

3) While we're on the subject of stereotypes, I'd like to see more anime defeating most other stereotypes we see, though it's hard to think of too many examples. I would like to see more biracial relationships. I'm also sick of glasses and/or braces signifying a nerd (this could also go for fat characters).

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is notable as having a biracial relationship between the main characters. Also, the original Macross has a biracial relationship between two secondary characters.
Only two I can think of off the top of my head.

[Radical Dreamer]

Okay dudes. I am in need of some good anime. New, old, only in Japan, whatever. XD It's been a super long while since I've watched any new stuff, and I'm ready to get back on the horse and go with it. XD So throw some suggestions at me!

Some shows/movies I've seen and enjoyed, to give you guys a feel for my taste:

Rurouni Kenshin
Full Moon wo Sagashite
Baccano
Ergo Proxy
Honey and Clover
Kaleido Star
Haibane Renmei
AirTV
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Sailor Moon
5 Centimeters Per Second
The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Paprika
Millennium Actress
Monster
Cowboy Bebop
Fullmetal Alchemist
Most Miyazaki works

Happy recommending, and thanks for the help!

[steenajack]

Have you tried Hikaru no Go? It is very good, and they have a review for it here on this site. You can check it out to see if it fits your tastes. My whole family got addicted to this anime; we all love it!

You could also try Moribito. I've only seen some of this, but from what I could tell, this is a very interesting show. Here's a link to info about this show: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6634

I want to recommend more since you and I are interested in some of the same titles, but I can't remember the names of the titles I want to recommend you. So I'll later come back with more titles if that is okay with you. :3

[blkmage]

Okay dudes. I am in need of some good anime. New, old, only in Japan, whatever. XD It's been a super long while since I've watched any new stuff, and I'm ready to get back on the horse and go with it. XD So throw some suggestions at me!

Let's take a trip through time!

2006
Higurashi no naku Koro ni
Ouran High School Host Club
Honey and Clover II
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Kanon (2006)

2007
Nodame Cantabile
Baccano
Higurashi no naku Koro ni Kai
Darker than Black
Clannad
ef a tale of memories
Moyashimon

2008
Spice and Wolf
Kure-nai
Kaiba
Soul Eater
Toradora!
Clannad After Story
ef a tale of melodies
Nodame Cantabile Paris Chapter

2009
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
Eden of the East
Bakemonogatari
CANAAN
Spice and Wolf II
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
Darker than Black: Comet of the Gemini

Obviously, this list is very broad and there might be stuff missing. There can be more if you have additional genres and stuff you're interested in that you haven't mentioned.

[Falx]

Let's take a trip through time!

2006
Higurashi no naku Koro ni
Ouran High School Host Club
Honey and Clover II
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Kanon (2006)

2007
Nodame Cantabile
Baccano
Higurashi no naku Koro ni Kai
Darker than Black
Clannad
ef a tale of memories
Moyashimon

2008
Spice and Wolf
Kure-nai
Kaiba
Soul Eater
Toradora!
Clannad After Story
ef a tale of melodies
Nodame Cantabile Paris Chapter

2009
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
Eden of the East
Bakemonogatari
CANAAN
Spice and Wolf II
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
Darker than Black: Comet of the Gemini

Obviously, this list is very broad and there might be stuff missing. There can be more if you have additional genres and stuff you're interested in that you haven't mentioned.

There's also Sketchbook Full colors, Sora no Manimani and the Kara no Kyoukai movie series.

And that Fullmetal Alchemist thing that blkmage mentioned there is a NEW series that follows the manga much more closely and is miles better than the old series.

Oh and I almost forgot, Kobato might be up your alley.

[Radical Dreamer]

Obviously, this list is very broad and there might be stuff missing. There can be more if you have additional genres and stuff you're interested in that you haven't mentioned.

Thanks for the recommendations! I had TOTALLY forgotten about Eden of the East]There's also Sketchbook Full colors, Sora no Manimani and the Kara no Kyoukai movie series.

And that Fullmetal Alchemist thing that blkmage mentioned there is a NEW series that follows the manga much more closely and is miles better than the old series.

Oh and I almost forgot, Kobato might be up your alley.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I actually got to see the first episode of the new FMA--it looks fabulous--but I haven't gotten to see the rest of it yet. XD I'll check out some of the other ones you mentioned, too!

[That Dude]

You might also want to check out

Noein: To Your Other Self.

I have a feeling you'd like that one Radical Corrieface.

[impact777]

Has anyone ever heard of Kite Liberator, Nabari no Ou and Sola? They all sound very interesting, but I don't know if there is bad content like bad religion in them.

[Falx]

Has anyone ever heard of Kite Liberator, Nabari no Ou and Sola? They all sound very interesting, but I don't know if there is bad content like bad religion in them.

Kite Liberator is a sequel to a movie that had explicit underage sex in it
So, yeah... extreme violence is a given as well.

Nabari no Ou seems alright, depending on how you feel about ninja powers is whether you would feel offended by it or not.

Dunno much about Sola, unfortunately, but there is definitely a supernatural element to it.