What are your Top 10 "Must-See" Anime Series/Movies of all time?

[KING]

yeah, I'm looking for some anime to watch...like, give me a definitive list!

[Colt Steele]

I guess everyone would throw Evangelion out there straight away, I won't even include it. SF2 the animated movie is also a no-brainer.

My personal all time favs:

Berserk
Macross Plus
Vampire Hunter D
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Appleseed
Darkstalkers

lastly, most consider it rather boring, but I always liked Record of Lodoss War.

[JAMSMASTERP]

Cowboy bebop is the greatest anime ever made.

[BlodiaVulcan5]

off the top of my head:

all hayao miyazaki films. including the ones that were done by his studio, like grave of the fire flies.
death note
evangelion
ghost in the shell: sac (and 2nd gig)
paranoia agent
tengen toppa gurren lagann
memories
animatrix
paprika
obviously, akira

one the newer ones that are pretty bent and unique, sayonara zetsubo sensei (Goodbye, Mr. Dispair). I've seen a few, haven't gotten back to it but from the ones i saw, it's gnarly.

i lean toward the cyberpunk/fantasy realm.

[NekoSempai]

I'll just throw out a few newer ones per genre that come to me, trying not to use shit that'll be blatantly overused like Evangelion or Bebop.


Fighting
- Claymore *Unique drawing style, unique storyline*
- History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi *Hilarious and pretty badass at the same time*

Sports
- Prince of Tennis *Think Tennis meets DBZ practically, and equally addicting.*
- Eyeshield 21 *Football's equivalent to PoT*

Harem
- School Days *A SERIOUS must watch if you haven't yet. That's all i'm gonna say about that.
- Tenchi GXP *Alot of people don't like the tenchi series, but i've always been a fan for whatever reason*

Mindfucks
- Ghost In The Shell: SAC - *So much underlying meanings to things in this series. Absolutely rediculous at times.*
- Serial Experiments Lain - *Another series that'll leave you thinking deeply if you let it*
- Death Note *Gonna be a cult classic, especially now that AS picked it up*

[Figcoinc]

I am not a big anime guy so I know people are going to hate this list. :smile:

Top Ten Animes to watch:

Hellsing
Akira
Neon Genesis Evangalion
Dragon Ball & Z (Not GT)
Wings of the Homminise
Street Fighter
Vampire Hunter D
Ninja Scroll
Grave of Fireflies
Armitage the III

[Shazay]

- Lain
- Higurashi
- Evangelion
- Black Lagoon
- Haruhi
- Death Note
- Hellsing Ultimate <--- Only three eps so far but damn awesome.

Eh, I don't watch much anime.

As far as movies I liked ROD and Voices of A Distant Star~

[El Maniatico]

Ninja Scroll
Cowboy Bebop
That one gundam series where their in the jungle? Stood out cause there were scenes of it there were just TOO raw.

[Oroman]

FLCL is great even if it's only 6 episodes long.

[epp1e]

SERIES: Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, Eyeshield 21, Detective Conan, One Piece (skip those nasty fillers), Hajime no Ippo, Nodame Cantabile, Honey and Clover, Great Teacher Onizuka, Initial D, Azumanga Daioh, Major (best.sports.anime.ever. and every season is good. Season 1 can feel like kiddy shit at times, but trust me - get through it... Season 2 and onward follows the protagonist's adult life), Genshiken (you have to have watched a shitload of anime for this series to be funny to you though), Katekyoshi Hitman Reborn (totally underestimated action/comedy anime... the reason why so little people watch is cause the series starts off with episodes that seem like fillers and THEN it gets to a real, very addictive storyline... starting at like episode 20ish -_-), FLCL, Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, REC (short, but great series... 11 or 12 episodes that total around an hour if you don't count the OP/ED), Black Lagoon, Goldenboy

MOVIES: Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, Tokyo Godfathers, The Place Promised in Our Early Days (watch this in HD if you can find it), Knocking on Heaven's Door (Cowboy Bebop movie)... the list goes on but I don't feel like trying to refresh my memory.

Eh, I went a bit over 10.

[OMG AntiAir Dust]

Im including the obvious ones for completeness.

In no particular order...

Samurai Champloo
Anything Ghost in the Shell<-- My all time favorite
Berserk
Serial Experiment Lain
Technolyze (Seriously underrated and never hear people talking bout this one).
Evangelion
Cowboy Beebop
Full Metal Alchemist
Wolf's Rain

[EveryFlowerFlow]

there's too many.

[Autocrat1]

Let's see...Bible Black errrr

[Plutoburn]

I guess everyone would throw Evangelion out there straight away, I won't even include it. SF2 the animated movie is also a no-brainer.

My personal all time favs:

Berserk
Macross Plus
Vampire Hunter D
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Appleseed
Darkstalkers

lastly, most consider it rather boring, but I always liked Record of Lodoss War.

If you like Macross Plus, you have to watch Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.

[epp1e]

Samurai ChamplooHoly mother of fuck, how did I forget that?

[Einlanzer]

hajime no ippo
death note
eyeshield 21
Capeta
claymore
Hokuto No Ken
spirited away


....thats all i can think of.

[KING]

lastly, most consider it rather boring, but I always liked Record of Lodoss War.

i LOVE Record of Lodoss War!:nunchuck:

[Alzarath]

In addition to the other stuff mentioned:

G Gundam

Its corniness is equivalent to, if not greater than, SF: The Movie.

[Plutoburn]

In addition to the other stuff mentioned:

G Gundam

Its corniness is equivalent to, if not greater than, SF: The Movie.

*snap finger* Gundam!!!!!!!!!


Nah, it just made perfect sense at the time. Gundam + Super Robot formula + martial art = sure win.

[VangardB]

Ranma 1/2
Irresponsible Captain Tylor
Grave of the Fireflies
Robotech
3x3 Eyes
Battle Angel Alita(GUNNM)
Ghost in the Shell
Macross Plus
Gunsmith Cats
Iria Zeiram

[Alzarath]

*snap finger* Gundam!!!!!!!!!


Nah, it just made perfect sense at the time. Gundam + Super Robot formula + martial art = sure win.

That doesn't make it any less corny :D

[CarpeNoctumXIII]

Since everything else I WAS going to put up here was done already, I'll put in one of my favorites of all time:

Jin-Roh.

[SunocO]

if you are new to anime i would say go with animes that are complete and not that long to watch so like bleach,naruto, one piece, and such should be out of the way.

so my recommendations are
cowboy bebop
samurai champloo
neon genesis evangelion
full metal alchemist (personally never watched it but ppl swear by it)
berserk

other recommendations
death note (very different kind of anime and judging by the manga, it might be over or close to being over?)
claymore (it won't be hard to catch up with and it rocks!)

and i think the ultimate anime that everyone should watch
Rurouni Kenshin (and stop watching right after the shishio arc.)

[EveryFlowerFlow]

death note (very different kind of anime and judging by the manga, it might be over or close to being over?)


it ended sometime back

[Alzarath]

and i think the ultimate anime that everyone should watch
Rurouni Kenshin (and stop watching right after the shishio arc.)

Not like they have a choice, the Jinchuu arc was never animated to begin with =P

It isn't that bad.. but yea, not as good as the Shishio arc :o

[True Grave]

yeah, I'm looking for some anime to watch...like, give me a definitive list!

Deathnote! + the L.A movies
Bleach
GunGrave anime- Great stuff!
Casshan Robot Hunter- movie
Yu Yu Hakusho- like DBZ only without the repetitiveness
Hellsing anime + OVAs
Anything Fist of the North Star
Blue Gender- A realistic, post apocalyptic anime for a change!
Zone of the Ender: Idolo- movie

Thats all i can think of at the moment.

[Hawk]

Initial D was entertaining. A fun arcade game as well.

[Alzarath]

Btw if you're into romance, check out the Kare Kano manga (no opinion on the anime as I haven't watched it, but I hear it's incomplete/sub-par).

[Monte]

Everyone already mentioned what I was going to say so I'll just second the following:

ghost in the shell movies and the series, hajime no ippo, GTO, Claymore, Azumanga Daioh and golden boy

[DS]

Hajime no Ippo
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
Captain Herlock: Endless Space Odyssey
Berserk
X TV series
Big O
Lupin the 3rd(and the movies)
Saint Seiya
Eureka Seven
Full Metal Panic
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu
Full Metal Panic The Second Raid
Read Or Die(OVA)
Read Or Die TV series
New Getter Robo
Mazinkaiser
Giant Robo
Record of Lodoss War
Galaxy Express 999
Vampire Hunter D(first one)
Galaxy Railways

And that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

EDIT - Thank you, Alzarath. I totally forgot about Galaxy Express 999.

[Alzarath]

Galaxy Express 999

[KING]

and i think the ultimate anime that everyone should watch
Rurouni Kenshin (and stop watching right after the shishio arc.)

yeah, it's a great series, but after the shishio arc... *ahem*BLEAH*ahem*
i like the OVA's too.

[UBControl]

Gee, really theres to many, ill throw some not so popular but i liked them

Aishiteru ze Baby
Beck
the melancholy of haruhi zuzumiya
W-Wish (really short bizarre one)
basilik
realbout highschool samurai girl
melody of oblivion
yakitake japan

most popular ones would be IMO
neon genesis evangelion
Full metal alchemist
akira (havent sen it)
gundam (havent seen it either)
Death Note

and some of my favorites are
Captain tusbasa (soccer)
Slam dunk (basketball)
Bleach so far
Samurai champloo
Samurai X

i could keep goin :nunchuck:

[SunocO]

oh yeah the ova's for kenshin is a must watch just like ova's in evangelion is a much watch too.

i forgot to mention initial D if you're into cars. you'll really like it.

if you want to watch romance..i remember watching love hina a long ass time ago and thinking it was good.

[NeREMIXED]

just watch ippo

[jae hoon]

Wow the fact that no one said Outlaw Star makes this thread fail.

[SunocO]

^oh shit i remember outlaw star. i really liked it but as one of the best all time? eh i don't know

that actually reminded me of Trigun...trigun and outlaw star were both in the same tier for me.

[KING]

^oh shit i remember outlaw star. i really liked it but as one of the best all time? eh i don't know
i agree; it was kind of "meh"

just watch ippo

done that.

yakitake japan


full of awesome! i couldn't stop watching it...i kept going one after another...lol.

it's too bad they never continued it further...

[Zombies]

My top list (in no real order)

Cowboy Bebop
Escaflowne!!
Samurai Champloo
Full Metal Alchemist
Hajime No Ippo
Akira (movie)
Ninja Scrolls (movie)
Tekkon Kinkreet
Spriggan (movie)
Kenshin (only the first 4 OVA thingers)
Ghost in the Shell SAC
Anything and everything by Studio Ghibli

Honorable mentions:

FLCL - Watch it for the animation. The writing is pretty much gibberish.
Scrapped Princess - Nothing too groundbreaking, but pretty solid throughout.

Shows to avoid:

Evangelion - I may be in the minority on this one, but this is the show that never seemed to deliver. How could they put together so many cool pieces and end up with so little action I'll never know.

1. Giant cool looking robots - Check!
2. Menacing well designed alien enemies - Check!
3. Worst ending in the history of animation (what the hell were they thinking with the oscilliscope?!?) and a completely useless and annoying main character - Check!

Serial Experiments Lain - Very cool art style and sound with some genuinely creepy moments. And a story that could have been told in 6-8 episodes dragged out to 24ish. Giant stretches of time where absolutely nothing happens does not a thought provoking experience make. This was made for high school intellectuals.

[Infested Jester]

Berserk
Bastard
Mad Bull
Yotoden
Urotsukidoji
Demon City
Fatal Fury 2
Bubblegum Crisis
Saint Seiya

[NeREMIXED]

done that.




oh...well you're done then. why bother making this thread?

[MaDPoWer]

Evangelion
Monster
Berserk
Lain
Gundam Wing
Street Fighter The Animated Movie
Hellsing
Ghost In The Shell
Gungrave
Dbz

[CrouchingTiger]

Cowboy Bebop
Death Note
Hellsing


I don't know how many anime series I've watched. I'd probably assume around 10 actually. Maybe a bit more than that. Those three I just mentioned were far and away the best ones I've seen though.

And I must admit, I didn't get the ending to Evangelion. Or maybe I did and just forgot. Either way it must not have been good enough to stick in my imagination heh. Still check it out. Everybody says it's good, so it's gotta be worth something.

[Warpticon]

Monster
Berserk
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Shamanic Princess
KareKano
Escaflowne
Black Lagoon

off the top of my head.

[epp1e]

Btw if you're into romance, check out the Kare Kano manga (no opinion on the anime as I haven't watched it, but I hear it's incomplete/sub-par).

By incomplete, they actually meant incomplete, not in the context of shittiness. They ended the series abruptly due to funding issues... it was good till then though. Any series will piss you off if it ends with the words "CONTINUED IN MANGA".

Two more mentions - Yakitate Japan & Over Drive (it's about bike racing... as in Tour de France bike racing... and I'm not into that at all, but the anime is friggin good).

[DJcream]

hmmm...Top 10 "Must-See" anime/movies. This is going to be hard to be original and unbiased.

10. Hajime no Ippo (Fighting Spirit) - I consider this the best sports anime ever made. Centered on boxing, one of the most manly sports ever, and feature exciting a dramatic fights as well as funny episodes during the training season.

9. FLCL (Fooly Cooly) - GAINAX is known for doing some crazy animations. FLCL is a 6-episode OVA with epic action scenes every episode to a rocking soundtrack by the Pillows.

8. Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi - At first, it may seem like our average high school comedy but after taking the dive, one will find out the incredible sci-fi adventure underneath. With lovable characters and fun side-story episodes, the show has created a huge following for a reason.

7. Black Lagoon - Sometimes, we want some non-stop mindless violence. Black Lagoon can fill an actual lagoon with the amount of bullets shot every episode. With boat chases, car chases, gun fire and psycho maids, the show is full of action.

6. School Days - This is no ordinary harem anime. For the first time, the main character is the most hated being in the anime world on purpose and the epic ending is not only fulfilling but also feature a nice boat.

5. AIR - Though a couple years old, this really dramatic series boasts really clean animations. As for the actual drama portion, I will admit to crying manly tears 3 times in all anime. AIR supplied 2 of those moments.

4. Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni/Kai (When they Cry) - Though the second season is still in progress, it looks like the epic mystery of loli-killers is finally wrapping up to one incredible conclusion. With the first season going through multiple stories of killings, the second season explains the reason for the multiple stories.

3. Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro - Following anime's favorite gentleman thief, this classic movie is a timeless classic of ruining a greater evil and saving the princess. Funny as always but the story and pacing is just amazing.

2. Grave of the Fireflies - In America, we have an abundance of WWII movies but all of them tell it from the American perspective. GotF is a sad tale from the Japan view when the fire raids over Tokyo forces two siblings to survive on their own during war. Very depressing and a very real look to the "enemy" once America gained the upper hand.

1. Spirited Away - This film is the only anime to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. This Miyazaki masterpiece is the magnum opus in fantasy storytelling.

EDIT for Honorable mentions:
- Cowboy Bebop: Another great action anime
- Mai Hime: Sleeper action anime with epic story-telling
- Howl's Moving Castle: Another Miyazaki Oscar nominee
- Ef: Interesting drama series with crazy animation done by SHAFT (aka GAINAX jr.)
- Sketchbook: Ultimate feel good, slice-of-life anime.

[Alzarath]

By incomplete, they actually meant incomplete, not in the context of shittiness. They ended the series abruptly due to funding issues... it was good till then though. Any series will piss you off if it ends with the words "CONTINUED IN MANGA".

^ Ya, that's what I meant by incomplete.

I just heard from some that it was crappy, in addition to being unfinished.

[epp1e]

^ Ya, that's what I meant by incomplete.

I just heard from some that it was crappy, in addition to being unfinished.

Roger that. I watched the series and then read the manga... I can see how someone who read the manga before watching the series wouldn't like it.

[DJcream]

As for Kare Kano, it was a really good drama series. It's story telling branches out to the side characters showing addition depth to the cast and even build similarities to the main characters' current relationship. Done by GAINAX, the animation is greatly varied and for the most part worked. Only 2 things ruined the series:
1. Recaps - These are great once in a while but to take up the beginning part of every show gets annoying. In addition in the 24-episode series, 4 of them were dedicated solely to recap the action.
2. Artificial ending - This is what happens when the source material is not finished and the anime must make do. Creating a visually boring ending pretty much stops the series during a would-be exciting event (in this case before a festival performance) and just does a third-person narrative of what happened from there. Not the ending many people wanted.

[Warpticon]

As for Kare Kano, it was a really good drama series. It's story telling branches out to the side characters showing addition depth to the cast and even build similarities to the main characters' current relationship. Done by GAINAX, the animation is greatly varied and for the most part worked. Only 2 things ruined the series:
1. Recaps - These are great once in a while but to take up the beginning part of every show gets annoying. In addition in the 24-episode series, 4 of them were dedicated solely to recap the action.
2. Artificial ending - This is what happens when the source material is not finished and the anime must make do. Creating a visually boring ending pretty much stops the series during a would-be exciting event (in this case before a festival performance) and just does a third-person narrative of what happened from there. Not the ending many people wanted.

But it's nowhere near as bad as the ending of Beck.

[TACOMA_VAN_DOOM]

City Hunter

[epp1e]

But it's nowhere near as bad as the ending of Beck.

Another good anime I forgot.

[BlodiaVulcan5]

how can i forget about mentioning FLCL and Eureka Seven? i don't normally associate them with anime, probably. They're on a whole other level, actually.

[BlodiaVulcan5]

My top list (in no real order)

Shows to avoid:

Evangelion - I may be in the minority on this one, but this is the show that never seemed to deliver. How could they put together so many cool pieces and end up with so little action I'll never know.

1. Giant cool looking robots - Check!
2. Menacing well designed alien enemies - Check!
3. Worst ending in the history of animation (what the hell were they thinking with the oscilliscope?!?) and a completely useless and annoying main character - Check!

i love it for all those reasons. Gray area materials are so facinating. So yeah, it delivered for me.

Can't win'em all.

[BlackShinobi]

Akira
Street Fighter The animated movie
Vampire hunter D
The fatal fury movies
Ninja scroll
-------------------------
DBZ
Saint Seiya
Giant robo
Crest of the stars
Ranma 1/2
bubblegum crisis

[rcaido]

Here's my list of anime fav

TV Series/OVA
1. Slam Dunk
2. Fist of North Star
3. Ping Pong Club
4. Fushigi Yugi
5. Ranma 1/2
6. Kenshin
7. Trigun
8. Berserk
9. Goldenboy
10. Samurai Champloo

Movies
1. Grave Fireflies
2. Laputa
3. Ninja Scroll
4. Fist of the North Star
5. My Neighbor Totoro
6. Princess Mononoke
7. Vampire Hunter

My mind is going blank, but that's about all i can remember for anime movies...

[matrix9280]

Pokemon
Digimon
Card Captors
Dragon Ball GT
Yugeoh
G Gundam
.hack
Voltron
Sonic X
Kirby: Right back at ya!

[p_r0phet]

imho

Movies

tenchu muyo in love
armatige the 3rd

as far as TV series go

Zoids and G Gundam
and Ronin Warriors but most people wont agree :sweat:

[sait0u]

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo.

i must say this movie is hella good.

think i'll go watch it again. *opens MPC, find file and watch*

[Gasaraki]

Legend of Galactic Heroes

The ultimate space opera of war and politics. Gundam without the robots and actual character development basically haha

[Chozen1]

Serial experiments Lain

[Atomic #]

Top 10:

Rurouni Kenshin: Although the season went downhill after the Shishio arc... The final OVA made it a memorable end. The animation was stunning...

Death Note: The whole cat and mouse concept of strategic insight can get you addicted and pulled into the series easily.

Cowboy Bebop: First series to get me interested in japanese cartoons... before this, I thought DBZ was only worth watching...

Lucky Star: Some people won't take it a second glance because of the whole "cutesy" girly anime style but its humor is young adult at most. Their parodies probably are more focused on the otaku / anime enthusiants... and come on! I give props to characters who hate Potemkin too...

Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi: High school anime with crazy ass twists. The series goes so far with its ridiciousness that you can't help but love the characters. Shit, it has more character development in two episodes than the whole arc of Naruto. The only gripe I heard was its mixed up order of showing...

Hellsing: Vampires with big ass guns, killer priests, and a whole crap load of blood...

Hajime No Ippo: Best sports series ever? That can be debated by many, however for the average male with a penance for Rocky-Style beatdowns... its definitely recommended.

FLCL: Short series by the acid-using creators of GAINAX; The Pillows' music was made for action scenes, and plus... As a personal reference: There was a clerk in an anime shop who tried to tie this series to the social injustices of South Africa and its need for communist movement... My friend and I laughed so much we can't forget this series.

Escaflowne: Probably the most underpowered Mechs I have ever seen... lol Compared to Gundam... Its whole story was leaning towards the Evangelion level of crazy, but not enough to turn your brain into pudding. The last fight was a bit anti-climatic, but overall its a twisting ride through Drama / Romance. I feel sorry for the English dub though.

Evangelion: Where to Start? Started out to be similar to Gundamand eventually the story strapped the viewer to a direct ticket to the Dark Side of the Moon in Bizzaro World; Probably the most re-watched series because of its wtf value... People have wrote thesis reports on this damned material, bordering on the "what if" and "representation" of the last 30 seconds of a particular episode. Or Rei smiling in a scene is suppose to highlight human suffering or some bs like that.

I always recommend this series first to anime newbies on the premise that Since I have suffered through the pain associated with this series, they have to do so as well.

Its similar to those who get into Asian Cinema... The movies I let them watch first are Oldboy, Cut, and Audition...

[Dyce]

I would go with.......

FLCL
Samurai Champloo
Bleach.....I'm really enjoying that right now
Cowboy Bebop
Trigun was awesome back in the day
Serial Experiments Lain
Ergo Proxy

For movies...any Studio Ghibli film (Spirited Away, Princess Mononkee, Howl's Moving Castle)
Vampire Hunter D and Akira for classics

[Shin Akuma]

I'd give you a list but after watching Hajime no Ippo, there'd no point.

This the only anime you'll ever need... even though you've seen it before.

It's one of those animes where you just want to watch it over and over, and it never gets boring.

Oh wait, what about Ashita no Joe?

It's like a 70's version of HnI. :rofl:

[Luciano Leone]

Cowboy Bebop, all ya need homie.

[GC!?]

Why limit it to 10?

Code Geass
Cromartie High School
Ghost in the Shell
Gurren Lagann
Azumanga Daioh
Death Note
Rurouni Kenshin
Eureka Seven
Hellsing Ultimate
Seto no Hanayome
Black Lagoon
Escaflowne
Gunbuster
Akagi
Mushishi
Gintama
2x2 Shinobuden
Excel Saga
Aria

[DropOff]

Let's see...Bible Black errrr
So you enjoy dickgirls and black magic huh?

[Nairdas]

Let's see here

FLCL
Gurren Lagann
Dragonball Z
Tenchi Muyo/Universe
Hellsing
Ghost in the shell: Stand alone complex
Street Fighter II the animation

[Fir]

Oh well, most already said what I was going to list. :|

[Serpent]

There is one that stands far above the rest. It is like this weird combination of murder, hentai and psychological and congnitive...intrigue? Thrill? Who knows. You...need to see it to understand. It's deep man. I believe it's called Milk Money. Greatest artistic work since Dostoevsky.

After you see it write an essay and post the thread for discussion. I meant to do it but I figured I needed to put in a protective mental block, and I feared if I thought too much on it, I wouldn't be able to construct that block. But I'm sure I can read someone else's thoughts so go ahead.

I saw it a few year's back. I should find it again and save it I guess before it dissappears forever.

[Pinion]

There is one that stands far above the rest. It is like this weird combination of murder, hentai and psychological and congnitive...intrigue? Thrill? Who knows. You...need to see it to understand. It's deep man. I believe it's called Milk Money. Greatest artistic work since Dostoevsky.


Is this what you speak of Serpent? (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5752)

If so I'll have to try and track this down.

[OMG AntiAir Dust]

I mentioned this earlier and no one else has really touched on it, but for everyone who enjoyed Lain check out Texhnolyze as a lot of the same people worked on both projects. I enjoyed it a lot and as evidenced by no one else mentioning it, I dont think a lot of people have seen it.

If you didnt like Lain should probably stay away.

[DjClayFace]

hmm...

Ghost in the Shell
Ninja Scroll
Perfect Blue
Berserk
Street Fighter 2 "the real unrated one"
FLCL
Animatrix-Beyond
Dragon Ball Z
Angel Cop
Street Fighter 2V

[Buddha's Weapon]

I'll just keep the list short...

Death Note
Hajime no Ippo
Berserk
Kare Kano <--- Great anime, great character development, really funny and also serious at times, the style is extremely original. Most people would say the manga is better but for me, i liked the anime more. The music sets the mood of the story. I loved the music. It's a shame the ending just ended abruptly... i just couldnt get into the manga.

Btw, if you watch it, watch english dub, it's probably one of the few animes that i'd actually prefer english dub > japanese.

[ShinkuuR]

Hmm....

Old School Series
-Ranma 1/2-preferably just seasons 1-3 and all OAVs. The movies aren't bad either.
-Dragon Ball Z-Seriously.
-Slayers-Still my favorite anime series of all time.
-Tenchi Muyo-just the first OAV series! Tenchi Universe is ok I guess if you just want some more to watch.
-Evangelion-Yeah everyone talks about the shit, but you still need to watch it.
-Record of Lodoss War-Required viewing.
-Cowboy Bebop-IMO the end of the old school era. Still required though.
-Nadesico-very solid series. Has comedy, drama, and good action, much like the FMP series.
-Macross-First arc only. I only heard bad things about Southern Cross and the Masters.
-Yu Yu Hakusho-I still haven't finished watching this!!! :mad:

Old School Movies
-Akira
-Vampire Hunter D
-Fist of the North Star
-Princess Mononoke
-Golgo 13: The Professional
-Ninja Scroll
-Macross Plus OAV
-Riding Bean
-Battle Angel(you should read the manga though)
-Wicked City
-Project A-Ko
-Perfect Blue

New School Series
-One Piece-Not really considered new since it's long as hell, but its HELLA stepped on for no reason. My second favorite series.
-Naruto-ignoring the fillers and the subpar first arc of Shippuden, its pretty entertaining.
-Bleach-still solid.
-Death Note-hella good and something different to watch.
-Full Metal Panic-definite fan favorite.
-Samurai Champloo-needs no introduction
-Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo-Something different, and the art and storytelling is quite unique.
-GTIS: Stand Alone Complex-Good series for the eyes and for something to think about.
-Black Lagoon-Fills the need for violence in my life, but I wish it lasted longer...

Stuff you should read instead of watch
-Trigun-while the anime series is pretty good, it omits alot of parts that the manga covers.
-Kenshin-The third arc is too good to miss out on.
-Hajime No Ippo-you can watch the series up until it ends then switch to the manga, but DON'T JUST WATCH THE ANIME.
-Full Metal Alchemist-the Manga just shits all over the anime. I can't even watch it anymore.
-Berserk-See what I wrote about Ippo.
-Hellsing*-Hellsing Ultimate is great, but since it doesn't cover everything and it's REALLY SLOW to come out, it acts as a good suppliment to the manga.

Fun cult Classics
-Mad Bull
-Devilman
-Dominion Tank Police(still one of my favorites)
-Dragon Half(lol)
-Gundam 08th MS Team
-801 TTS Airbats
-Mermaid's Scar
-Ronin Warriors
-Angel Cop
-Urotsukidoji(lol)
-Urusei Yatsura


There's also series that are good but I haven't finished/watched, like Eureka Seven, Coyote Ragtime Show, Blood +, Harumi, etc. So I can't comment on those.

[js2756]

My personal top ten (in order):

Fullmetal Alchemist
Ranma 1/2
Maison Ikkoku
Azumanga Daioh
Cowboy Bebop
Rurouni Kenshin: Reminiscence
Elfen Lied
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
Urusei Yatsura
Genshiken

[MrQuotes]

kenshin was one of my fave's but like the post above me its better read than watched

cowboy bebop
ninja scroll
grave of the fireflies
death note
spirited away
fullmetal alchemist
ghost in the shell SAC
lupin the 3rd
bleach

[mcginnis]

Actually going on some random peoples likes, your not gonna like them all. I just go to anime recommendation database (http://www.anime-planet.com/anirec/)

and look at the anime I already liked and it'll give you some pretty good recommendations. I forgot how I stumbled on to that site but IMO it's really good at giving a decent rating and recommendations. Most of the anime mentioned here are there so you just have to see which fits your needs.

[marn]

D.Gray-Man. D:

[nameingway]

X (ova/series)
vampire hunter d: bloodlust
blood
ninja scroll
hellsing ova
macross plus
karas
hokuto no ken: raoh gaiden


(that's all i can think of atm)

[maxx]

yu yu hakuso should be listed

[specs]

My list, in no particular order (assume dubs unless I say otherwise; yes, I watch dubs, and no, my opinion doesn't count for any less because of it):

Mushi-Shi - A fairly new anime where each episode is essentially its own one-shot. Stories tend to be about families, and the joys and griefs that family entails. Its production values are through the roof; it's ridiculously well-animated. A good dub, too, for the three of you (including me :bgrin:) that watch dubs. (Cheap plug: my reviews of the show so far: vol.1 (http://popcultureshock.com/index.php?p=42477) and vols.2-3 (http://popcultureshock.com/index.php?p=42915))

Castle in the Sky - Fuck that Spirited Away or Howl's Floating Castle nonsense; THIS is Miyazaki's best work. It's ridiculously entertaining and devoid of the forced political commentary in many of Miyazaki's other works.

Castle of Cagliostro - The Lupin III movie. :rofl: Also by Miyazaki, and almost as good as Castle in the Sky.

Fullmetal Alchemist (the series and the movie) - Yes, I know, a bunch of you like the manga better. The show deviates wildly from the manga. But the show is not the manga, and judged by its own merits, it's exceedingly well-written and well-paced. The emotion is genuine, not forced, and the characters flawed and likeable. The movie (Conqueror of Shambala) was a suitable ending to the show; bittersweet but satisfying.

Full Metal Panic - A little ridiculous and fan-service-y (a bad thing) at times, but, unlike a lot of other supposedly "comedic" anime, it actually made me laugh. It also had a serious side that was enticing to watch, and great characters (Gauron has to be one of the greatest anime villains ever).

Trigun - Though I said this list is in no particular order, if I had to choose a #1, this would be it. I'm not going to bother summing up the show; just find it and watch it.

Scrapped Princess - Written by Bones (they did Fullmetal Alchemist and Rahxephon, and Scrapped Princess shares various similarities). This one turned things on their sides a bit; the hero didn't do any fighting, instead acting both as the witness to and catalyst of the story. Very angsty, but in a believable way.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (both series) - A little chatty, but the drama, scenarios, and motivations are all top-notch.

Planetes - The trailer for this series was garbage and I shuddered when akumachan sent me this to review. I ended up absolutely loving it. It is, ultimate, a blue-collar sitcom-drama; set in the future, it follows a group of people from the space debris clearing section of a space-based corporation. Like janitorial work in orbit. It's snappy, smart, and believable. I admit, though, that after the really good ending moment in the last episode of disc 3, and hearing that some sad shit happens to the main characters in later volumes, I've been too afraid to watch the rest of the show. :rofl:

I know I'm only at nine, but I'm having trouble thinking of one more. So here's my top nine. :bgrin:

[ReloadChapstick]

Since everything else I WAS going to put up here was done already, I'll put in one of my favorites of all time:

Jin-Roh.

How did I know? Haha, awesome anime fo' sho'.


Saint Seiya

I hope you know you win the thread for mentioning that.:tup:

Elfen Lied

I've seend bits and pieces of of Elfen Lied and it seemed cool.

Not sure if anyone mentioned Blue Seed. I've seen a few episodes of it and it was pretty good.

[Warpticon]

Blue Seed is a classic favorite of mine. Pick me up foxy night game. I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a top pick or anything, though.

[tajiri]

karas.

:/

[Jaldaboath]

DON'T watch Death Note; the series was pure genius then the ending is mundane and retarded.

[ShinkuuR]

DON'T watch Death Note; the series was pure genius then the ending is mundane and retarded.

I agree with you there, I felt really let down about how it all ended. I even read the manga hoping that it was just changed for random anime purposes, but it was the same. At least the ride was fun.

However, there's like this 2+ hour long Death Note special that came on that supposed to have a modified/different ending. I need to watch it and find out if that's true.

[BlackShinobi]

since a few other people mentioned Saint Seiya does anyone know if they are ever going to finish that show?

That last thing from a few years ago stopped at a pretty messed up part and I'd really like to know what happened after that.
Saint Seiya is so good I watched the entire series in japanese with no subtitles long before I learned any japanese.
Saint Seiya in English is so Bad I vowed never to watch it again after seeing the first episode.

[Serpent]

Is this what you speak of Serpent? (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5752)

If so I'll have to try and track this down.

Yeah that's it. Prepare to be mind-fucked.

[Jaldaboath]

However, there's like this 2+ hour long Death Note special that came on that supposed to have a modified/different ending. I need to watch it and find out if that's true.
PM me if you find something will ya? I'd love to see that.

I kinda expected it to end like the intro suggested it will:

There's a scene in the intro with Yagami standing in what seems to be a desolate land. Thought he would end up killing everyone on the world and end up like an insane blabber on a lonely world. The inclusion of N just cheaped out the whole series, especially L's death. Ryuuzaki was a worthy oponent and the fact that Light beat him should have turned the series away from a 1v1.

Trigun is another very good series I ended up feeling cheated out, I brought it cause the 1st eps were funny as hell and ended up seeing a drama. Not a bad one mind you but... er... not what I paid for.


since a few other people mentioned Saint Seiya does anyone know if they are ever going to finish that show?
As far as I can tell, every Saga from that eries is meant to be the final one and they just restart whwnever they come up with something new. Like for example the Poseidon saga after the Asgard one, although it kept a continuity and everything, the series could have ended there and be kinda complete.

Oh, and if you, by any chance, understand spanish run with the mexican dub, it's not entirely accurate but they did a good job and the voice overs are actuall fitting. They yell as much as in the original Japanese.

[mcginnis]

[QUOTE=Jaldaboath;4549091]PM me if you find something will ya? I'd love to see that.

I kinda expected it to end like the intro suggested it will:

There's a scene in the intro with Yagami standing in what seems to be a desolate land. Thought he would end up killing everyone on the world and end up like an insane blabber on a lonely world. The inclusion of N just cheaped out the whole series, especially L's death. Ryuuzaki was a worthy oponent and the fact that Light beat him should have turned the series away from a 1v1.

And I thought I was the only one that thought the ending was garbage. I mean Light was the protagonist of the anime even though he killed people. I just thought he'd end up winning in the end or like what you said.

Shinkuur's list is primarily all GREAT anime from what I've seen. Only a couple on there I haven't bothered to watch cause I have an INSANE amount of backlogged anime to watch.:bgrin:

[CarpeNoctumXIII]

How did I know? Haha, awesome anime fo' sho'.

Haha, you know me too well. Damn right, it's freaking awesome.

[BlodiaVulcan5]

DON'T watch Death Note; the series was pure genius then the ending is mundane and retarded.

admit it, you wanted Light to win.

the ending is made of pure, ggpo, win.

[Yumi Saotome]

Warau Salesman (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7412)

I really wish someone would fansub it. It is such a mind fuck that not even the Japanese air it anymore (and they show everything!). That ought to give you an idea of how fucked up it is. Very dark humor with permanent emotional scarring ability. Right now, it's my current #1

Others I like in no particular order:
Hokuto no Ken (original 80s version)
Slayers and Slayers Next
Irresponsible Captain Tylor
Hikaru no Go
Kaiji
Rurouni Kenshin (up to end of Kyoto arc) and Trust/Betrayal OAV
Any Lupin IIIrd movie

[ytwojay]

Kenshin
Ranma 1/2

[Truong]

1. Berserk
2. Hajime Ippo
3. Death Note

The Holy Trinity of Anime series, imho. Everything else fails horribly in comparison to these three series.

Anime to avoid despite praises from otakus:

1. Cowboy Bebop
2. Samurai Champloo
3. Trigun

All three of these series suffer from too much style and almost zero substance. Champloo and Bebop was fucking amazing.... all 5 episodes of it, despite being a 20+ ep series. Had those two series just been the final 3-5 episodes, they'd be rank right up there with my top 3, but instead, the rest of the other 15-20 episodes had little to no substance. It was all "hey look, this is edgy and urban. We're totally hip and hop. Look at me mix eastern philosophy and western pop culture!" instead of just plain telling a fucking good story. It reeked of trying too hard.

Trigun is just utter ass. It's what wrong with anime and why I understand some people generalize and hate anime for no good reasons. It's because of trash like Trigun.

Scratch that. I take it back. Do watch Bebop and Champloo, but just the last few episodes. Ignore Trigun like you'd ignore any other shitty, cliche-riddled anime garbage.

As for anime movies, Grave of the Fireflies transcends the anime genre. It's an amazing, gut-wrenching story that the creator just so happen to have chose animation as its medium. Lupin: III Castle of Cagliostro is also amazing. You'll be glued to the screen from beginning to end.

[jae hoon]

Outlaw Star - My favorite anime series ever
Bastard!! - probably one of the most underrated animes ever
Dead Leaves - purely for the wtf factor
Trigun - Dont really care what people think it is still a damn good series and Wolfwood > You
princess mononoke - I actually think it is a great movie
Hellsing - To bad it doesnt really end
BubbleGum Crisis 2040
Nightwalker
Samurai 7
Ronin Warriors

[MagnetiX]

Azumanga Daiooooooooh!

[Korngo]

Galaxy Express 999

Good shit. This is one of my all time faves. Too good of a storyline, imo. =]

I'm loving this thread. I'll admit, I havent been much into Anime for the past 5-6 years. lol So reading this thread is dope.

I gotta check out this "Death Note" I'm hearing about. But I hear it's not finished or something? My fave. anime of all time is Evangelion. If someone can direct torwards some more anime's kinda like Evangelion (mind fuck ish) or some action/drama anime's like Cowboy Bebop, it would be much apreciated. =] <3! thx

[marcusg]

There are so many different genres but my top ten so far are

Cowboy Bebop
Samurai Champloo
Akira
Ninja Scroll
Full Metal Panic
Black Lagoon
Claymore
Samurai 7
Law of Ueki
Slam Dunk

There are a few other movies but I will never remember the title.
Short movies I like
Black magic 66
Blood the last vampire

[Episode_667]

The Legend of Black Heaven (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Heaven)

13 Episodes of fun, including:
- Parodies of Mulder and Skully
- Battling aliens using an ultimate weapon powered by rocking out
- Spaceship that transforms into a giant guitar
- Genuinely funny *and* touching moments

I also vouch for
- Escaflowne
- Crest / Banner of the Stars (haven't watched the movie yet...)
- LAST EFFING EXILE
- If you like Evangelion then give RahXephon a go, it's Eva with a love story instead of angst. Watch the series then the movie, as the movie fills in a lot of details from the story.

[Alzarath]

I gotta check out this "Death Note" I'm hearing about. But I hear it's not finished or something? My fave. anime of all time is Evangelion. If someone can direct torwards some more anime's kinda like Evangelion (mind fuck ish) or some action/drama anime's like Cowboy Bebop, it would be much apreciated. =] <3! thx

Death Note is the shit. It WOULD be perfect in my (and others) opinion, if not for the retarded as fuck ending.

[Sacr3D]

Death Note is the shit. It WOULD be perfect in my (and others) opinion, if not for the retarded as fuck ending.

The ending isn't really retarded imo.

[Alzarath]

The ending isn't really retarded imo.

I mean in terms of quality, not storyline :D

I wonder how things would've played out if not for Near/Mello.

[Deadpool135]

Not exactly my top ten, just 10 off the top of my head.

Gungrave
Twelve Kingdoms (first few eps may leave a bad impression, but you will get hooked soon enough)
Gantz
Hellsing
Full Metal Panic
Samurai Champloo
Cowboy Bebop
Full Metal Alchemist
Berserk
Death Note


And if you don't mind, I will just list some pretty reliable anime that a majority of people will enjoy. Some of these I haven't fully watched yet, so they may not all be the best. I still have Tons of watching to do...

Monster
Last Exile
Trigun
Speed Grapher
Akira (must-see movie)
Hajime no Ippo
Initial D
Guardian of the Sacred Spirit/ Seirei no Moribito
Black Lagoon
Dragon Ball Z (fairly subjective though)
Elfen Leid
Neon Genesis: Evangelion
Ghost in the Shell SAC
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Blood+
Claymore (well above average, but not incredible)
Serial Experiments Lain
Basilisk
Ergo Proxy
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Texhnolyze


If anyone really wants me to go on I could....but I better stop right there haha. Hope that helped anyone.

[js2756]

- Crest / Banner of the Stars (haven't watched the movie yet...)


Which movie? There are recap movies for Crest and Banner 1, a separate Crest episode devoted to Lafiel's parents, and the OVA (Banner 3, my favourite of the Banners, not as good as Crest).

[DanielLarusso]

Anime to avoid despite praises from otakus:

1. Cowboy Bebop
2. Samurai Champloo
3. Trigun

All three of these series suffer from too much style and almost zero substance. Champloo and Bebop was fucking amazing.... all 5 episodes of it, despite being a 20+ ep series. Had those two series just been the final 3-5 episodes, they'd be rank right up there with my top 3, but instead, the rest of the other 15-20 episodes had little to no substance. It was all "hey look, this is edgy and urban. We're totally hip and hop. Look at me mix eastern philosophy and western pop culture!" instead of just plain telling a fucking good story. It reeked of trying too hard.

Trigun is just utter ass. It's what wrong with anime and why I understand some people generalize and hate anime for no good reasons. It's because of trash like Trigun.

Scratch that. I take it back. Do watch Bebop and Champloo, but just the last few episodes. Ignore Trigun like you'd ignore any other shitty, cliche-riddled anime garbage.

OMG 100 PERCENT CO-SIGN!!

MORE anime to avoid despite praise:

X (static, unemotional, episodic).

Gungrave (people give this too much credit because it's based on a videogame and its actually somewhat watchable. but take away the fact that its based on a videogame, and you're left with something just somewhat watchable).

Last Exile (stylish, looks good, but no meat. in other words, the all graphics no gameplay syndrome. much like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, exept it's better than those two because at least it's not episodic).

Twelve Kingdoms (starts strong, falls apart in the second half).

And since someone just mentioned RahXephon, RahXephon (Evangalion For Dummies).

[scum gale 88]

-akira
-giant robo
-hokuto no ken (movie/series/OVAs)
-ippo
-wicked city
-macross (pretty much every series is awesome)
-G gundam
-cowboy bebop
-Big O
-M.D. Geist (kidding!)
-yu yu hakusho

[BlackShinobi]

As far as I can tell, every Saga from that eries is meant to be the final one and they just restart whwnever they come up with something new. Like for example the Poseidon saga after the Asgard one, although it kept a continuity and everything, the series could have ended there and be kinda complete.

Oh, and if you, by any chance, understand spanish run with the mexican dub, it's not entirely accurate but they did a good job and the voice overs are actuall fitting. They yell as much as in the original Japanese.

Did you see the last saga? The one after Asgard. It is definitely the most kick ass saga. and I'm almost certain it is the LAST ONE, because people start dying. Anyway it ends half way through and they never finished it as far as I have ever been able to find.

[mcginnis]

Alright, If ANYONE watches Death Note you HAVE to watch the director's cut afterwords. It's a way better ending and it's the one that I was hoping for.

[DanielLarusso]

Alright, If ANYONE watches Death Note you HAVE to watch the director's cut afterwords. It's a way better ending and it's the one that I was hoping for.

OK everybody's talking about this director's cut but where the fuck are u getting it from? Who's subbing it, links?

[mcginnis]

http://www.mininova.org/tor/949368

You could've just googled Death Note Director's Cut and It would've came up. It's a torrent which I'm sure a lot of you already know how to open those.

[Ferdinandz]

I'm sure people already mentioned these before but they are just that good.

Cowboy Bebop
Samurai Champloo
The Vision of Escaflowne
Full Metal Alchemist
FLCL
Welcome to the NHK!
Macross Plus
Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal
Neon Genesis Evangelion

Don't watch berserk, read it.

[Weeks]

I honestly would not recommend Evangelion to a newbie anime watcher

[mcginnis]

Yea, actually I kinda skipped Evangelion when I first started watching anime and now when I try to watch it, it just can't keep my attention. I know it's relatively good but, my ADD starts kickin in :sweat:

[JackTenrac!]

I'll do twelve:
- Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex and the first GITS
- Street Fighter II: TAM(...I had to keep this here)
- Otogouchi( another Production I.G. show)
- Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door (It gets nuts)
- Patlabor (movies. Badmouth Canada, will you?!)
- Hellsing(does some good character development near the end of it)
- Ninja Scroll(the series sucked ass. Can't justify why I decided to finish watching this)
- Samurai X(the series is enjoyable and well done on either side of the track)
- Tekkaman
- GTO
- Berserk
- Galaxy Express 999: "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT" :lol: best line ever.


Mentions:
- Anything Deathscythe recommends: haven't seen Saint Seiya in years, but it was pretty damn good the times I caught it. He knows his shit.
- Akira
- Can't remember the name of the movie, but it was about a team of time-travellers(some mutant, a samurai, a woman who was 100, but she looked like she was 20 something) who went to a Islamic inspired city that they couldn't get out of. There was a big cat and a weird girl in it as two of the main atagonists.
- Hakuto No Ken. Surprised that no one has mentioned it.
- Dragon Ball(The Original. )

[maxx]

I honestly would not recommend Evangelion to a newbie anime watcher

most of us were newbies when eva came out. i think thats one of those shows that made us into serious anime fans...though it doesnt really hold up well as time has progressed. i may try and sit through all my vhs tapes of the series tthis sunday lol. eva marathon.

[Ferdinandz]

most of us were newbies when eva came out. i think thats one of those shows that made us into serious anime fans...

Yep.

Funny thing, I watched the end of eva before ANYTHING else in the series :rofl: so you can imagine how fucking confused I was.

Also a couple of other recommends: Jin-roh: The Wolf brigade - amazing movie
Also the Ghost in the Shell movies.

and last but not least anything by Studio Ghibli.

[Biolink]

Anime/Manga series

1)Dragonball/Dragonball Z/Dragonball GT
-Contrary to what alot of people say,I think GT was decent,if you treat it as standalone.

2)Hokuto no Ken

3)Gantz

4)Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

5)Yu-Yu Hakusho

6)Berserk

7)Samurai Champloo

8)Most Gundam series(Save Seed,and Seed Destiny)

9)Rurouni Kenshin

10)Ronin Warriors

[Zombies]

I can definitely understand your feelings about Trigun. Low production values, fairly generic plot line and characters and a less than stellar ending...not exactly the definition of a "classic".

That said, I'd love to hear what it is exactly about Bebop that you dislike so much. Is it because it's so non-linear/episodic? True, only 5-8 of the episodes deal with the main story line, but the rest of the episodes are in my opinion very entertaining all on their own. The character development through them is above average, and the dialog itself is always entertaining. Great action as well.

What sort of substance is it that you are looking for? I would assume that your tastes tend towards plot development...am I even close?

Please don't take this as a flame! I'm actually quite curious as I think most people would rate Bebop very highly, and would do so based on the strength of the writing/characters/production quality.

PS - Hajime no Ippo is rad beyond belief...especially the early episodes. Grave of the Fireflies also...if you don't get choked up by that movie you should probably be locked up.

1. Berserk
2. Hajime Ippo
3. Death Note

The Holy Trinity of Anime series, imho. Everything else fails horribly in comparison to these three series.

Anime to avoid despite praises from otakus:

1. Cowboy Bebop
2. Samurai Champloo
3. Trigun

All three of these series suffer from too much style and almost zero substance. Champloo and Bebop was fucking amazing.... all 5 episodes of it, despite being a 20+ ep series. Had those two series just been the final 3-5 episodes, they'd be rank right up there with my top 3, but instead, the rest of the other 15-20 episodes had little to no substance. It was all "hey look, this is edgy and urban. We're totally hip and hop. Look at me mix eastern philosophy and western pop culture!" instead of just plain telling a fucking good story. It reeked of trying too hard.

Trigun is just utter ass. It's what wrong with anime and why I understand some people generalize and hate anime for no good reasons. It's because of trash like Trigun.

Scratch that. I take it back. Do watch Bebop and Champloo, but just the last few episodes. Ignore Trigun like you'd ignore any other shitty, cliche-riddled anime garbage.

As for anime movies, Grave of the Fireflies transcends the anime genre. It's an amazing, gut-wrenching story that the creator just so happen to have chose animation as its medium. Lupin: III Castle of Cagliostro is also amazing. You'll be glued to the screen from beginning to end.

[hubcapsignstop]

10 personal classics *excluding animated shorts and individual series episodes
(be warned i usually dont pay attention to the story, i just watch the pretty pictures, and i also generally like the older style of japanese character design better):

Nausicca of the valley of the wind
devilman (parts 1 and 2 OAV)
grappler baki (OAV movie)
Planet Busters (Birth with the original Orion streamline pictures dub)
Dagger of Kamui
FLCL (6 part OAV)
DragonBall Z movie 12 (Janeba/fusion reborn)
and of course:
Akira
Ghost in the Shell (1st movie)
Ninja Scroll

*leaving out alot of other personal faves but that is probably my ten fav as of this moment in time

[Truong]

I can definitely understand your feelings about Trigun. Low production values, fairly generic plot line and characters and a less than stellar ending...not exactly the definition of a "classic".

That said, I'd love to hear what it is exactly about Bebop that you dislike so much. Is it because it's so non-linear/episodic? True, only 5-8 of the episodes deal with the main story line, but the rest of the episodes are in my opinion very entertaining all on their own. The character development through them is above average, and the dialog itself is always entertaining. Great action as well.

What sort of substance is it that you are looking for? I would assume that your tastes tend towards plot development...am I even close?

Please don't take this as a flame! I'm actually quite curious as I think most people would rate Bebop very highly, and would do so based on the strength of the writing/characters/production quality.

PS - Hajime no Ippo is rad beyond belief...especially the early episodes. Grave of the Fireflies also...if you don't get choked up by that movie you should probably be locked up.

It's as exactly as you guessed. I don't dislike Champloo and Bebop as a whole. I hated the majority of it, because, quite frankly, it felt like filler. And it was boring and completely unforgettable. But such is the nature of episodic anime.

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, Champloo and Bebop were amazing when it focused on its main story, and imo falls apart pretty pathetically when it strayed away from it, which was sadly the bulk of those animes.

Maybe 1 or 2 filler episodes from both series stood out for me. The baseball episode in Champloo was funny as fuck, and the episode where Spike fought Ed's father in Bebop had a great fight scene. Other than that, I honestly cannot think of any other memorable episodes from either series.

In short, had Bebop been a 5-6 episode mini-series, it would have been instant greatness. Same with Champloo. But they were both 25+ episode series, and quite frankly the rest just couldn't live up to the standard.

Oh yeah, I almost competely lossed it and punched my monitor when Vash was revealed to be an alien or some retarded shit and this was maybe 2/3 of the way through. So fucking stupid. People who like Trigun must not know what good anime is.

[Truong]

10 personal classics *excluding animated shorts and individual series episodes
(be warned i usually dont pay attention to the story, i just watch the pretty pictures, and i also generally like the older style of japanese character design better):

Nausicca of the valley of the wind
devilman (parts 1 and 2 OAV)
grappler baki (OAV movie)
Planet Busters (Birth with the original Orion streamline pictures dub)
Dagger of Kamui
FLCL (6 part OAV)
DragonBall Z movie 12 (Janeba/fusion reborn)
and of course:
Akira
Ghost in the Shell (1st movie)
Ninja Scroll

*leaving out alot of other personal faves but that is probably my ten fav as of this moment in time

If you are familiar with Mix Martial Art, watching grappler baki will drive you insane. The series is littered with TMA fanboyism. The creator was clearly set out to reclaim TMA's glory and make MMA look like utter shit. This is the series where professional boxers lose to street fighters, where Muay Thai is mentioned exactly once, where Karate punches create laser beams, 90 year old Akaido master manhandles Olympic calibur wrestlers. Such bullshittry. Not to mention the story makes absolutely no sense.

[Deadpool135]

Truong, personally I believe you shouldn't really go right out and say that the animes you are speaking of are bad. I think you should regard it as a case of "I don't like this 'genre' (so to speak), so I will not speak my opinion at all."

For example, I really don't like the Yu Yu Hakusho and One Piece type "genres" (so to speak, once again), so I really try to not say anything about them at all.

I just think that if you don't enjoy the genre/style as a whole, there's really no need to critique it.

[hubcapsignstop]

(to truong)
^hahaa
i see that some passions have been stirred by this work
im not trying to dispense anti MMA propaganda
and i wasnt talking about the series (i didnt like that nearly as much, but some of the episodes were well animated)

i was just refering the one OAV with the most obscure unintelligble plot I have ever tried to follow in a standalone title (the english DUB is the best version by far in this one). I consider the 45 min cartoon a gem of animated action. And the character designs are very unusual by typical japanese animation standards.

personally, it has some of the most memorable moments ever animated

i find it unfortunate that your enchantment with MMA has precluded your ability to enjoy it. It is one of may all time favorite catoons. I must have watched it 30 times, like a litte kid watching the same video tape over and over and over again and never getting sick of it carrying it around with hiim all the time to other people houses and shit yuo know...?

[Gain]

Although I understand what Truong is saying, I have to disagree, assuming you generally enjoy the episodes, characters and other aspects of the series other than the story.

TRUE bebop, champloo and even Trigun could have told the SAME general story in a 2 hour long movie, that shouldn't detract people from checking out the series'...

You can consider the bulk of champloo and bebop and even trigun as filler, but if you enjoy the filler, then it makes the WHOLE series worthwile...

If we based the quality/worth of a "series" on how much each installment contributes to the story, that would make shows like Evangelion and Aqua Team Hunger Force equally AVOIDABLE under Truong's reasoning... and it would make things like Calvin and Hobbes, the Peanuts, the Boondocks, Family Guy and ATHF (among many others) plain useless..

my opinion is that DESPITE the fact that all the plot propelling episodes in Bebop and Champloo and maybe even Trigun can be counted on one hand, they are entertaining series' and worth watching...

My MUST SEE:

10. One Piece
9. Akira
8. Lupin
7. Gundam
6. Urutsei Yatsura (sp?)(Ranma 1/2 if you're into fighters/martial arts/shonen)
5. Gunm (Street Fighter Animated Movie if you're into fighters more than anime)
4. Cowboy Bebop
2. Macross Do You Remember Love?
1. Evangelion

These are what I'd require someone to watch...

15 Personal Suggestions:

15. Hajime Ippo
14. xXxHolic
13. Street Fighter Animated Movie
12. Azumanga Daioh
11. Tenchi Muyo
10. Riding Bean/Gunsmith Cats
9. Ginatama
8. Samurai Champloo
7. One Piece
6. Genshiken
5. Dragon Ball Z
4. Ranma 1/2
3. Cowboy Bebop
2. Macross (OG series... Macross Plus close second)
1. Evangelion

[Dragon Punch]

In no particular order:

Akira
Full Metal Alchemist
Ninja Scroll
Cowboy Bebop
Samurai Champloo
Spirited Away
Interstella 5555
Tekkonkinkreet
Last Exile
Grave of the Fireflies

[Ferdinandz]

Truong, personally I believe you shouldn't really go right out and say that the animes you are speaking of are bad. I think you should regard it as a case of "I don't like this 'genre' (so to speak), so I will not speak my opinion at all."

For example, I really don't like the Yu Yu Hakusho and One Piece type "genres" (so to speak, once again), so I really try to not say anything about them at all.

I just think that if you don't enjoy the genre/style as a whole, there's really no need to critique it.

Yep.

Just because you don't like that style of anime/story telling don't go off telling people they are unwatchable crap :)

[void216]

I have a definitive list but its 70 animes in no particular order other than separated into genre
and about 10 movies

Seinen Series
JoJo's Bizzare Adventure
Berserk
Fist of the North Star/Hokuto no Ken
Gantz
Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.
Black Lagoon

Shounen Series
Dragonball Z
One Piece
Detective Conan/Case Closed
Hajimme no Ippo
Eyeshield 21
D. Gray Man
Ashita no Joe
Yu Yu Hakusho
Cyborg 009
Astroboy
Rouroni Kenshin
Yakitate Japan
Hunter x Hunter
Full Metal Alchemist
Busou Renkin
Chrno Crusade
Lupin the 3rd

Shoujo series
Maria Sama ga Miteru/Marimete
Sailor Moon
Cardcaptor Sakura
Princess Tutu
Kaleido Star
Kanon
Clannad
Looking up at the Half Moon Sky/ Hanbun no Tsuuki ga Nabooru
Rec
NANA
Tenchi Muyo
Love Hina

Mecha
Gundam Series
Macross Series
Tengen Toppa Gurren Laggan
Eureka 7
Robotech
Rahxephon
Patlabor
Escaflowne
Full Metal Panic

Horror
Hellsing
Jigoku Shoujo/Hell Girl
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni

Comedy
Azumanga Daioh
Genshiken
Lucky Star
Gintama
Full Metal Panic: FUMOFFU

Supernatural
Mushishi
Mokke

Mindfuck
Ergo Proxy
Evangelion
Serial Experiments Lain
Technolyze
Boogie Pop Phantom
Paranoia Agent

Movies/OVA
Voices of a Distant Star
Akira
Jin-Roh
Spriggan
Memories
Sprited Away
Ghost in The Shell
My Neighbor Totoro is very good for kids
Blue Submarine no 6
Kiki's Delivery Service
Grave of the Fireflies
Vampire Hunter D

[maxx]

fuck grave of the fireflies...:sad: only anime to ever make me cry. fuck that movie..i refuse to ever watch it again.

hajime no ippo is the most top tier of the sports animes. fuck the basketball crap and yo prince of tennis(though i love prince of tennis)....rolling gooooooooo!!!!!!

[{PFH}-Lake]

Lain
Vandread
Black Cat
Fate/Stay night
Read or die the anime
Guyver new and old
Bakki the grappler
Gad Guard
Tengen Toppa Gurren Laggan
Death Note
Fooly Cooly
grappler baki
Air Gear
Dr. Slump
Rurouni kenshin

[Warpticon]

Mecha
Gundam Series
Macross Series
Tengen Toppa Gurren Laggan
Eureka 7
Robotech
Rahxephon
Patlabor
Escaflowne
Full Metal Panic
Tenchi Muyo
Love Hina



...

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[{PFH}-Lake]

love hina=shitty anime like Green Green and girls bravo. There is only 1 good Gundam show mother fuckers its called Gundam Zeta

[DanielLarusso]

...

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I don't know what you're laughing at Warp, Love Hina and Tenchi Muyo may be the two greatest mecha animes of all time.

[Ace London]

GaoGaiGar

[scum gale 88]

Im not seeing enough big-O on this thread, WHERE IS BIG-O?

GaoGaiGar
GaoGaiGar FINAL, motherfuckers!
it takes hotblooded justice to new levels

[Ferdinandz]

GaoGaiGar

Shit sux mothafucka

Final was better