Anime Recommendations Thread

[MightiMidget]

Hm...almost all the "clean" anime I can think of are gory or violent. I'm not sure if that bothers you or not. If so, let me know and I'll expand on the violence levels (or someone else will I'm sure).

Sci-fi:
Time of Eve(Eve no Jikan) ((I don't remember if there's any sexual content in this at all...))
Pale Cocoon
Ergo Proxy -- I don't know if this fits your preference. There's a couple places of almost nudity, however it's dark and not meant for fanservice. I don't believe I would have noticed if someone hadn't pointed it out to me when I asked for content. One of the characters pines over the other, but she isn't interested. At all.

Mystery:
Another-- This is a ghost story. I'm not sure if that falls under "magic." It is currently airing, but so far I haven't seen anything iffy beyond some of the deaths being gruesome and, well, it being a ghost story.
Gosick- I have not finished this, but I remembered it being pretty safe. Someone who finished it can correct me if I'm wrong. The leads really care about each other, but they're more like bickering children than mushy gushy. In fact, there's no mushy gushy that I remembered.

Misc:
Kino's Journey - this ranges from spots of action to mystery and is drenched in a steadily paced philosophizing.
Baccano! - the only sexual content is someone *tripping and almost pulling down the front of someone's dress, and Ladd and Lua's relationship is kind of creepy. This is very violent, there is a f-word in the dub, but it's action-y and fun if you do not mind the violence. There are a lot of couples, but each couple is very different in how they interact with each other.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

[AdriTan]

Thnks!

[eightluvver888]

I'd second Ergo Proxy, then. It's interesting and keeps you guessing. One of my favorites.

[Atria35]

So, I'm looking for Anime without magic, sexual or nude content, lots of mushy gushy love between bf and gf stuff. I'm looking for sci-fis, action, maybe mysteries, and recent stuff. Recommendations?

Dangit, first thing I thought of was Steins], which is an amazing sci-fi action series, but there is a little bit of sexual/nude content (you don't see anything, sex doesn't happen).
[B]Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 - It's about two kids who get caught in an earthquake in Tokyo. Great show. Get 2 eps in before making a judgement call. It just keeps getting better.
Sword of the Stranger - it's a straight-up samurai action flick, and is amazing. I don't like action, but I love Sword of the Stranger.
To Terra... as long as you don't mind some of the sci-fi involving some genetically altered humans who have esp- powers because of their genetics.
Kimi to Boku - this is slice-of-life, I'm not sure that you'd be into it, but there's no romance and it's clean.
Bamboo Blade - no real romance, is a comedy/slice of life with some swordfighting (it's about girls in a kendo club)
Dennou Coil- Clean sci-fi about kids who use special glasses to see a digital overlay of the real world. Awesome adventures ensue.
Kemono no Souja Erin- it's fantasy without any magic, and is pretty awesome.
Paranoia Agent- it's a psychological thriller. Pretty clean except for the violence, and it's not really R-movie stuff there.
Princess Tutu - Yeah, I know what it sounds like. It's not a typical magical girl. There is some nudity (completely undetailed, completely non-sexual) when she canges from a duck to a girl, and it only happens occasiosnally. It's an amazing anime, though, I'd give it 4 eps to get rolling and from there on you're good.

....Are you sure no fantasy? Because Twelve Kingdoms is a great anime that runs on the premise of a parallell world. All the 'magic' is stuff that's in their people's genes and is natural to that world.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Hey guys, I'm looking to scope out some anime for my sister's upcoming birthday.

Here are some she loves, to give an idea of tastes and content restraints:

Natsume Yujinchou (seasons 1-3)
Summer Wars
Madoka Magica
Giant Robo
Whisper of the Heart
FMA: Brotherhood
Nichijou

(She's also reading FMA, Tegami Bachi, and Yotsuba&!.)

She doesn't have a favorite genre (though stay away from horror), but she generally likes lighthearted stuff. And I need licensed things, for obvious reasons.

Any suggestions would be great!

On a related note, can anyone give me content information on Aria: The Animation and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time?

[TheSubtleDoctor]

TGWLTT would be an excellent choice for her if she likes Summer Wars. There is no nudity, violence or spiritual weirdness. Maybe there is minor swearing, but I don't recall. Nothing too objectionable, if anything at all.

Since she seems to like stuff with crossover appeal, I might also suggest FLCL, Cowboy Bebop (some content issues with these two) and Escaflowne.

*EDIT: Moribito is also a good shout. Nice one, Hats.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Moribito would probably be a good choice. Fantasy adventure story based on a kid's fantasy novel and done by the Ghost in the Shell people, very clean, I think you guys could like it. Kiki's Delivery Service might also be a good shot, though I'm guessing you're asking about TV series.

As for Aria, the content is surefine, minus maybe a beach episode if you get hung up on that kind of thing. It is very relaxing, but if you aren't watching TV to relax over ridiculously sappy people, it is going to be very boring.

[A_Yellow_Dress]

Hey guys, I'm looking to scope out some anime for my sister's upcoming birthday.

Here are some she loves, to give an idea of tastes and content restraints:

Natsume Yujinchou (seasons 1-3)
Summer Wars
Madoka Magica
Giant Robo
Whisper of the Heart
FMA: Brotherhood
Nichijou

(She's also reading FMA, Tegami Bachi, and Yotsuba&!.)

She doesn't have a favorite genre (though stay away from horror), but she generally likes lighthearted stuff. And I need licensed things, for obvious reasons.

Any suggestions would be great!

On a related note, can anyone give me content information on Aria: The Animation and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time?

The first thing to come to mind for me was Azumanga Daioh. If she liked Nichijou and is reading Yotsuba, then this is the slice of life to get.

I second TheSubtleDoctor's choice of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, which I actually liked better than Summer Wars. If she liked Summer Wars than it is a great choice. There isn't really anything objectionable that I can remember...

[Atria35]

If she liked Madoka, then your sister would probably enjoy Princess Tutu. It starts out a little more generically, but is another one of the magical girl anime that's more than it appears to be.

Mushishi is a little more sedate and a little more serious than Natsume, but it's still a great show.

Aria is fantastic with no real objectionable content (they stay in a hot springs and go to the beach, but everything is covered, no fanservice or anything even resembling it), and TGWLTT is a lovely, lovely movie! Seconding Seirei no Moribito.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Ooh, those look great. Thanks for the info and recommends, everyone!

[Crossfire]

So, after watching Sora no woto* I'm hesitant to start my next series without some input from you guys. Right now I'm looking for a medieval/fantasy (think Lord of the Rings) series, or a good war story.


*As mentioned in another thread, as much as I disliked how the story was told, I absolutely adored the world it's set in. Liked how humanity reverted back to WWII era technology, though I could do with less crazy [s]mecha[/s] spider-tank-things.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

The pinnacle of war stories is sprawling epic Legend of the Galactic Heroes. However, since most people don't want to commit to a 110 episode show, I will provide other recommendations.

Mecha shows of the "real robot" genre are often great war stories. You don't have to know anything about Gundam to see Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. This is a short, excellent character piece that leaves you feeling that war is indeed hell. Another gritty real robot war story I can recommend is Votoms: Pailsen Files. Again, no franchise knowledge required, since it is a prequel to the original Votoms. This is a very realistic depiction of war here. The "invasion of Normandy" style scene (D-Day + mechs) in the first episode is a pretty good indicator of what you're in store for.

[Neane]

What about Zipang? I have not seen the anime yet but I have read about 34 chapters of the manga thus far. It has to deal with a High Tech and Fully Armed Japanese Navy Ship [with its crew] from the 21th Century and they get sent back in time to around the time of the Battle of Guadalcanal during WW2 due to a space-time something and they are trapped there in the past and they have to survive and they must also decide whether or not to change the course of history.

[Maokun]

As for traditional fantasy, these would be by top 3 recommendations:

Escaflowne: Set in an alternate world of medieval-like fantasy and magic it also incorporates mechas.

Record of Loddoss War: This is your classical sword & sorcery epic of warring kingdoms.

Slayers: A very funny parody of most fantasy tropes, with a great ongoing plot following the adventures of a powerful sorceress and party of misfits.

[Crossfire]

@TheSubtleDoctor:

I've tried watching LOTGL, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Then again, that was several years ago so I might give it another try at some point. I'm definitely adding Votoms to my list, however.


@Neane:

I completely forgot about that series! I watched the first 15 episodes or so, but I stopped for reasons I forget (I think I was having trouble finding the episodes).


@Maokun:

I'll definitely check out the first and third, but I am unsure of Loddos War.



At any rate, many thanks to you all. Votoms and Escaflowne are officially on my immediate watch list.

[Atria35]

So, after watching Sora no woto* I'm hesitant to start my next series without some input from you guys. Right now I'm looking for a medieval/fantasy (think Lord of the Rings) series, or a good war story.

If I can still recommend, I'd go for 12 Kingdoms for the mideval/fantasy, with an Asian twist. It also has a nice amount of politics and intrigue.

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is also quite good, with a nice amount of action. Not quite LoTR, but definitely one to check out sometime.

And then there's Claymore, which is all mideval/fantasy and a war story to boot.

[steenajack]

Could someone give me the low down of the content of Tiger and Bunny?
Violence? Language? Sex/Nudity/Fanservice? Yaoi/Yuri? Anything Else?

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Could someone give me the low down of the content of Tiger and Bunny?
Violence? Language? Sex/Nudity/Fanservice? Yaoi/Yuri? Anything Else?

OK, so the violence and language are pretty standard PG-13, Rated T sort of stuff. No f-bombs and whatnot and no gore. There is no sex at all, nor any nudity that I have any memory of, but Blue Rose's outfits are tight and revealing. No actual yaoi or yuri, though the fujoshi love to dream about Kotetsu and Barnaby. There is also an openly gay character who does hit on some of the male super heroes, though it's never anything I'd consider lewd. It's only really present for comedic purposes, playing off of stereotypes and such. But that stuff makes some people uncomfortable, so...

Overall, I'd say that if you can handle the anime they show/used to show on Adult Swim, then T&B should go down smooth.

[steenajack]

Okee Dokee! Thank you.

[Neane]

@Neane:

I completely forgot about that series! I watched the first 15 episodes or so, but I stopped for reasons I forget (I think I was having trouble finding the episodes).

Yeah, I believe so. Some episodes of series you cannot find for some reason.

[AngelicTotoro]

I want to start watching the Gundam franchise so I was wondering if you guys would let me know which series are good and which ones are... well, not so good.
(If you could include any objectionable content that's in what you suggest, I'd appreciate it.)

[Neane]

I want to start watching the Gundam franchise so I was wondering if you guys would let me know which series are good and which ones are... well, not so good.
(If you could include any objectionable content that's in what you suggest, I'd appreciate it.)

Good Gundam Series:
The Entire UC Universe of Gundam is great.

[Also according to the Dear Doctor: After War Gundam X is great too. That one is an alternate Universe one. Also, I have heard that Turn A Gundam is great too. In fact, a lot of people think it is the best Gundam Series, I have not seen Turn A.] Also, Mobile Fighter G Gundam is another Great one. The Most Manly Gundam Series EVER based upon what I have heard.

I personally recommend that you start with the First Gundam Series [Mobile Suit Gundam 0079] due to the fact that it is super important. It is to Japan what the first Star Wars movie is to the USA.

My favorite Gundam Series thus far is Victory Gundam [The most insane one.] To give you a warning...it is the most brutal one [Tons of people die.] and has the emotionally damaging death scenes ever outside of Ideon. Also there is a good deal of Fan-service, [Most of it is Dis-Fanserivce...for example an entire squad of female troops are in their underwear while attacking a Gundam and they all die super painful deaths. Also there are a couple of scenes where a female is partly nude [Do not worry...Nothing is shown.] Also...most misleading OP for a Gundam Series.]


Not Good Gundam Titles:

Gundam Seed/Seed Destiny [The Worst Thing to ever happen to the Gundam franchise.], Gundam Wing, Gundam 00 [The only R-rated Gundam Series. Also, the Second Season is a utter and complete Train-wreck.]

[Cianter]

I want to start watching the Gundam franchise so I was wondering if you guys would let me know which series are good and which ones are... well, not so good.
(If you could include any objectionable content that's in what you suggest, I'd appreciate it.)

Ok, so I've only seen Gundam SEED, but I figured any help would be welcome:) So, it's a very clean anime except for TWO things, and it SOOOO vexes me that they had to do this, because otherwise it would have been the cleanest anime EVER... Anyways, so number one, all of the theme songs (I think there's like three or four different ones) have outline of naked woman. They are just outlines with like stars on the inside, but still, it bothered me. I just didn't watch the theme song,and since it was NEVER in the actual show, I was ok with it. In fact, the theme song kind of has nothing to do with the anime, like seriously. The one other things is that two of the characters, the MC and another important side character, sleep together. Nothing is shown, it just shows the MC getting out of bed and then she looks up and asks what's wrong, then he leaves. They only mention it once, and that's IT, in all 51 eps those two things are the only things wrong with the show. So there you have it, here is a clip of the theme song, just so you can see what I'm talking about:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxzyqyULf5U&feature=related So there are four, and the first and last are probably the worst. I don't know how cautious you are, but I HIGHLY recomend this series! It is so touching and has SUCH a good storyline that will just suck you in, but be warned, you WILL cry, and it can be somewhat deppressing, but it is just so good you have to see it!XD

[Cianter]

Not Good Gundam Titles:

Gundam Seed/Seed Destiny [The Worst Thing to ever happen to the Gundam Series.], Gundam Wing, Gundam 00 [The only R-rated Gundam Series. Also, the Second Season is a utter and complete Train-wreck.]

Heyya, I just saw your post and was curious, since I'm a TOTAL Gundam noob, and just stumbled upon Gundam SEED by chance, why is it considered bad? Just curious, but I deffinitely want to check out the other ones:)

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Actually, rather than watching First Gundam as a TV series, definitely go for the movie compilations, but only for First Gundam.

[AngelicTotoro]

@Neane: Thanks for your help, I added everything you suggested to me minus Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

edit: I watched the VGundam opening and it seems to be uber happy, like too happy. So since it's misleading, I guess that means that VG is sad... -_- (Still watching it.)

@Cianter: Actually, even though neane said Gundam SEED sucked, I was going to watch it anyway. xD (I'm not watching Destiny SEED though, since I've read enough reviews of that to know it's an awful sequel.) So, thank you for helping me out. I'm definitely watching it.

@Mr hat'n'clogs: Okay, I'll do that. But do you think you could list the movies in order for me? (MAL is confusing me. x_x)

edit: No wait, I figured it out. There are three movies for the original gundam, correct?

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Mobile Suit Gundam I
Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow
Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space

That should give you a good start into the UC timeline, from which you have a variety of places to go.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I want to start watching the Gundam franchise so I was wondering if you guys would let me know which series are good and which ones are... well, not so good.
(If you could include any objectionable content that's in what you suggest, I'd appreciate it.)

OK, so here we go.

As far as where to start with the Gundam franchise, you have to ask yourself a question right off the bat: am I willing to watch a show with old character designs and animation? Gundam has been going strong for over two decades, so a lot of it is pretty old. I believe you really dug SDF Macross, so I assume you are cool with older anime.

Gundam shows fall into two camps, broadly speaking: Universal Century or Alternate Universe. UC shows all take place within a single timeline, the Universal Century, and so are connected. The events in 0079 UC are known and have affected people in 0085 UC. AU Gundam, on the other hand, exist so that new fans can get into Gundam without having to know a bunch of continuity. The reason I asked the question above is that, while the stories and characters in the UC timeline tend to be more interesting, those are the older shows, by and large]Movies[/B], not the TV series. Those movies are shorter than the TV series, say everything the TV series wanted to say, have better animation than the TV series, and represent Tomino's original vision for the story. Plus, the TV series has some useless stuff like the the G Armor, which serves no purpose to the story but takes up a bunch of episodes in order to sell toys. After those movies, if you're interested in continuing the journey, check out the Zeta Gundam TV series and then the film Char's Counterattack. These are sort of the core UC story, with other shows, movies and OAVs existing in the timeline to flesh out the universe.

[AngelicTotoro]

Yep, I'm totally fine with old animation. And since you're the second person to suggest I watch the original movies instead of the original tv series, then I must certainly will.
(I also added Zeta Gundam to my list, along with CC.)
Thanks much!

-
Also I don't recall if I've asked about the vision of escaflowne before?
I'm very interested in watching it, however I do know that the main character uses tarot cards a lot... Can someone tell me anything that's in it that would be religiously offensive? (Or, er, evil?)

[Atria35]

@ AngelicTotoro- There is not a lot of usage of tarot cards. I only recall them appearing at all 3-5 times during the entire show. The show doesn't hinge on any way on her use of tarot cards. It's impled that she has ESP powers, which again isn't really a big factor into the show.

Now, on your PTW list is Kaleido Star- THAT has a decent usage of tarot cards, almost once an episode.

Compare.