Rebecca writes:
Another comics-related question! This time, it’s about anime movies! My library is seriously lacking any besides Yu-Gi-Oh!, and last week I went on a binge and bought a couple of volumes of Full Metal Alchemist and Samurai Seven – what else could I add to our collection?
I think Full Metal Alchemist and Samurai Seven are great series to start off your anime collection. I’ll list a few more that you might want to consider. Some of my suggestions will probably skew towards shows that are more suitable for adult audiences. This is a great time to be building an anime collection, some of the series that used to cost a ton of money are being reissued as lower cost thinpack box sets.
Classics
I think you can’t go wrong with anything by Hayao Miyazaki. Most of his movies are modern day classics and are suitable for all ages.
Neon Genesis Evangelion One of the most influential giant robot shows of recent years.
Cowboy Bebop – This was the show that got me back into anime again! Great space opera with a wonderful soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. (Rebecca already has a few volumes of this, but I think she should get the whole series, and the movie!)
The Vision of Escaflowne – Hitomi is transported from Earth to a magical world called Gaia, where she meets Van, a dispossesed prince who struggles to reclaim his country with a mystical suit of armor. This is one of my favorite series, I watch it at least once a year.
Anime that makes you go Huh?!
I think every collection needs at least one anime title that veers towards the somewhat insane and incomprehensible. So you might want to pick one of these titles:
FLCL, Paranoia Agent, or Serial Experiments Lain.
Artsy Anime
Some of the titles that I think of as being of greater artistic merit are Perfect Blue, Metropolis, and Grave of the Fireflies. I haven’t seen Millenium Actress, but from what I hear it belongs on this list too.
Just Entertaining
These are some of the series that I’ve enjoyed watching over the past few years:
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Princess Tutu
Last Exile
Witch Hunter Robin
Fushigi Yugi
Samurai Champloo
Trigun
Haibane Renmei
RahXephon
Hellsing
Scrapped Princess
Read or Die, both the TV series and the OVA
Ruroni Kenshin – both the TV series and the OVA
I just started watching Gankutsuou – The Count of Monte Christo.
I hope this gives you a few ideas! If any of you have more suggestions for Rebecca, please post a comment.