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.
8:27 pm on October 17th, 2006 1
The only movie I would add is Tokyo Godfathers, by the same guy who did Paranoia Agent. It’s a bit less weird overall, but is still plenty strange and is also bizarrely heartwarming: it’s about three homeless people who find an abandoned baby and try to track down its parents. Wackiness ensues.
I also have to mention that Paranoia Agent has the best intro ever.
8:29 pm on October 17th, 2006 2
Oh, yeah, I forgot about Tokyo Godfathers. It is nifty.
1:50 am on October 18th, 2006 3
Another one for ‘just entertaining’:
Elfen Lied
And one for the ‘HUH!?!!? EWWWWW!’ category:
Urotsukidoji
5:14 am on October 18th, 2006 4
Cool, thanks for the suggestions!
7:43 am on October 18th, 2006 5
Ah! Yes! Paranoia Agent-I totally agree with the above statements-definitely in the Anime that makes you go Huh?!?! category. It was the intro that made me start to watch, and I am determined to try to make sense of it. (perhaps watching the episodes in some kind of reasonable order would help, instead of catching eps here and there.) LOL.
How about Bleach? I just started watching it on Adult Swim-I really like it so far. The first volume comes out on dvd next month.
8:47 am on October 18th, 2006 6
Don’t forget Ghost in the Shell. And, alas, Pokemon, Beyblade and Dragon Ball Z flies off the DVD shelves here fairly quickly as well.
5:50 pm on October 18th, 2006 7
I can’t believe I forgot Ghost in the Shell! I guess the younger kids still appreciate Pokemon.
2:49 am on October 19th, 2006 8
If you want great action and the best Anime intro music you would want to be watching Gantz.
http://www.animenfo.com/animetitle,1354,vjtyhk,gantz.html
12:54 pm on January 2nd, 2007 9
If we’re talking for library purposes, I’d skip Elfen Lied, Urotsukidoji & Gantz.
I’d also consider Fruits Basket & Planetes.
5:11 am on March 9th, 2007 10
a great collection of anime i saw at deviantart site)
4:14 am on June 14th, 2007 11
Whats new in the world of Anime and Manga ?
you gotta love that deviant art !!
http://www.mangaforce.co.uk
11:13 pm on October 27th, 2007 12
[...] Anna wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
9:45 am on November 6th, 2007 13
OMG!! I LOVE NARUTO SHIPUUDEN !!