Anime, In Particular Hikaru No Go

[filkertom]

Anne points out that it's ridiculous to say you're into "anime"; it's like saying you're into books. Anime runs the gamut, from kiddie-cute to ultra-violent to steamy-sexual to philosophical to quasi-historical to satirical to you get the idea.

I have always been a casual fan of Japanese animation. But the right ones are getting me into it more. (Many of these links are to the Wikipedia pages for the original manga; they give information about the anime. Spoilers abound, so be careful.)

• Last year, of course, Anne made sure I watched Death Note, which was way, way cool, although definitely not to everyone's tastes. You can watch it online here.
• I also ended up watching Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji), which had fantastic characters except for the inexplicably doofus ones and went wildly out of control as far as plot sometime after Ep 6. You can watch it online here.
• There's the utterly adorable Chi's Sweet Home, the episodes of which are pretty much less than three minutes each, so it's easy to get into. Here's one of several playlists at YouTube.
• Anne and I are 1/7 of the way through Samurai 7, an authorized steampunk retelling of Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai. You can watch it online here. Somewhere, Toshiro Mifune is looking down and thinking, "My character is a GIANT ROBOT!? COOL!"
• I have to check out Romeo x Juliet, the preview of which will kick your ass. (At least it did mine.) You can watch it online here.
• But the one I've been following lately is the fabulous Hikaru No Go, about a 12-year-old boy who picks up the wrong, or right, Go board and finds himself in the company of Fujiwara-no-Sai, a ghost who was a famous Go player hundreds of years ago. It quickly becomes an intricate tale of dedication, obsession, friendship, and finding yourself, with superb characters and even Go lessons at the end of each episode. You can watch it online here.

Obviously, there are many, many others. If you're an anime fan, which ones would you recommend to newbies? And, if you're not familiar with much anime, what kind of stories are you looking for, so we can help you find them?

Comments

[ladypoetess.livejournal.com]

You know, I was just linked to AnimeSeason.com a couple days ago by elliondrk and further encouraged by imitarate when he provided me with a list of all the series he thinks I should watch. I find this entry incredibly timely. ^_^

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

If you're an anime fan, which ones would you recommend to newbies?

Definitely Cowboy Bebop, probably also Slayers. Probably not Neon Genesis Evangelion or the other later Gainax stuff like FLCL or Gurren Lagann, but once they'd gotten a bit further, I might pull one of those. Depending on the person, Revolutionary Girl Utena or Sailor Moon (the real deal, not the American version). Probably wouldn't be able to resist going for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

TV Tropes has a list of Essential Anime (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EssentialAnime) that's pretty good. (WARNING: TV Tropes link. If you lose hours, I am not responsible.)

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Samurai 7 sounds excellent.

I am not big into anime, although there are a few I like. I enjoy Oh My Goddess, although I still like the books better.
As far as the kind of thing I enjoy, generally, it's going to be a combination of good story, beauty of animation (not necessarily depicting something beautiful) and quirk of character.

Edited to note that when I was a kid growing up in Switzerland, there were not many cartoons on tv. An exception was a half-hour show on Saturday evening around 5:30pm called Scacciapensieri (Here's the opening of the show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXAUiyQQLlE ). Anyway, when we'd visit relatives in Tuscany we would occasionally get to watch tv, and I remember a cartoon (now would of course be called anime) called Captain Future (Opening song for the Italian version, which is the one I saw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66CVNjn7RM4 ). It's not so great, and mainly what I remember are shouts of FUOCO! (Fire) and lots of explosions :P

[gan-chan.livejournal.com]

What, we can't be into books?

[sillyfox.livejournal.com]

For those who enjoy fantasy, I recommend Record of Lodoss War as an introduction to anime.

For those into romantic comedy, I recommend the first couple of seasons of Ranma 1/2. After that, it starts getting repetitive.

Gundam is to Japan what Star Wars is to America. I'd recommend watching some incarnation of it. (Gundam 00, the latest version of the franchise, is on YouTube.)

[the_rck]

I think it depends on the newbie. Netflix opens up a lot of possibilities (even though series can suddenly become unavailable).

For you, I recommend Cowboy Bebop, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Slayers and Full Metal Panic FUMOFU. For somebody else, I might start with Scrapped Princess, Rurouni Kenshin, Haibane Renmei or Kare Kano. Most of my choices are dictated by what I own.

[saganth.livejournal.com]

I'm not much for any anime nowadays, BUUUUT several of my favorite cartoons as a kid were anime even though I didn't know the term 'anime' yet. I just knew a lot of Asian folk worked on them from watching the credits. There was Starblazers (aka Space Battleship Yamato), the cartoons from the Force Five block as it aired in New England: Gaiking, Granzider, Starvengers, Danguard Ace and Spaceketeers (though I didn't care so much for Spaceketeers). And there was Voltron and Tranzor-Z.

Only anime I actually own is Laputa: Castle in the Sky, with subtitles, on video.

[zellion.livejournal.com]

I probably watch less anime than a lot of geeks these days, but I watch a lot less TV period, so ...

I think the first thing I was shown was Princess Mononoke (and it was probably the dub, but the dub is really GOOD.) Then I was introduced to Rurouni Kenshin (if you want to discuss animated characters about whom one has naughty fantasies...) and Cowboy Bebop. Not sure whether to thank or smack the friend who introduced me to Ranma. I think the next thing I watched was Serial Experiments LAIN, and some .hack. This was all from 2001-2003.

My husband and I unfortunately don't always share taste in anime - he recently bought Deathnote, for example, which I find interesting but not as engrossing as he does.

And I would so say to anyone "I'm into books."

[sarekofvulcan.livejournal.com]

I'm a fan, but not a well-informed one. Two I've run into recently is Fruits Basket, which my 12-year-old adores, and La Corda d'Oro, anime for band geeks. :-) You can find the latter at http://www.crunchyroll.com/library/La_Corda_dOro_-_Primo_Passo

[gan-chan.livejournal.com]

For 1st-level anime-watchers, I'd show a 6-day curriculum in 90 minute chunks: Read Or Die (the original 3-episode OVA), 3 episodes each of His & Her Circumstances (aka Kare Kano), Slayers, My Neighbor Totoro, either Tenchi Muyo or Love Hina, and Bubblegum Crisis.

On the seventh day, if they were of appropriate age, the first episodes of each of La Blue Girl, Twin Dolls, and Dragon Pink (mwahaha).

Level 2 training would depend on what they showed the most interest in.

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

*cracks knuckles*

Alrighty.

First and foremost I tend to reccomend the classics like Lupin the 3rd. Since it's one of the most popular series world wide. As is Cowboy Bebop.

Tenchi Muyo and Tenchi Universe are also ones I reccomend since they rank among my favorites. Record of Lodoss War, Slayers, Yu Yu Hakusho, Gundam Wing, and the first two seasons of Rurouni Kenshin also come with a bug thumbs up (don't get me started on the third season though).

Movie wise almost any Miyazaki film is good. Though Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are my favorites. The Tenchi Movies are all good as is Ranma 1/2: Big Trouble in Nekonron China.

Revolutionary Girl Utena is a good series, and the movie is just STA-RANGE; but much of the weirdness of both the movie and series comes from the fact that there's a lot of symbolism going on in it; moreso in the movie. It's not one I usually reccomend to newbies since it is odd in parts.

(The less said about shows like FLCL the better)

[wingus.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of the basic stuff has been said. (I especially also suggest the Miyazaki films.

My suggestions come primarily from the giant robot side of things.

Someone mentioned Gundam, and on that note, I recommend the incarnation Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team. Kind of a straightforward war story - no really crazy stuff, the mechs are there as tools of war, not victory-assuring plot devices. Kind of a Romeo and Juliet romance subplot, really awesome characters.

On the more ridiculous side, Mobile Fighter G Gundam is good for someone more into the goofy mainstream-ish stuff full of special attacks. It's glorious cheese, hilarious for stereotype-based Gundams. Basic plot being that there's a global Gundam battle tournament, and each country submits one Gundam to do battle. Last one standing, their country controls the known universe for four years. Some of the more hilarious stereotypes is the main character's Gundam, being from Japan, is based on a samurai. The one from France has a metal cape, Napoleon hat, and a fencing-style beamsword. The Chinese Gundam has a dragon theme. Canada's is a lumberjack. The American Gundam is a triple-stereotype - fits in a football player AND a boxer into the design, as well as a surfer.

[darthparadox.livejournal.com]

I was gonna say... Sure, there are specific types of books I'm into, but I'm a big fan of books in general, as objects and as representations of knowledge.

Similarly, I enjoy the entire anime aesthetic, even if there are individual series that make me want to spork my eyes out.

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

First of all, go here: http://www.anime-planet.com/anime/ This is a good place to find recommendations.

Some titles not mentioned so far:

Princess Tutu: yes, it sounds like a too-cute-to-stand girly show, but the story is very well done and I've been surprised at how many people get hooked on the first couple episodes and demand to see the rest of the series.

Hare + Guu: If you like your comedy with a bit of weird added to spice things up, this is enjoyable.

FLCL: if you like full-gonzo weird and exciting, this is definitely for you. Very well done, and it does make sense as long as you don't try to force it to make sense right away. Let the show proceed at it's own pace and you'll understand what's going on eventually. Don't let negative reviews fool you, FLCL is like playing The Great Lukeski to people who are only used to Mel Torme.

Azumanga Daioh: The other extreme, not wild or freaky (a little weird sometimes, though) but thoroughly enjoyable at a quieter pace.

[secoia.livejournal.com]

If you're into WoW or EQ, I recommend .hack//Sign (the original series; I never got into the later ones).
If you're into fantasy I recommend Escaflowne over Lodoss War.

My two favs are Battle Angel and Please Save My Earth, but a person new to anime might not be into them.

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

Chi's Sweet Home! I love that series. You can watch recent eps at CrrunchyRoll, too.

I'm very fond of Welcome to the NHK, but it's more than a little bleak; the protagonists are relentlessly screwed up and unhappy.

Probably my favorite is Mononoke (NOT Princess Mononoke). The art is amazingly beautiful. If you like ghost stories/period horror, you owe it to yourself to see it. Sadly, it's not lisenced in the US and probably won't be. But there are fansubs. It's twelve episodes long broken into several unrelated story arcs; the Nue arc (episodes 8 and 9) is probably the most visually intruiging. You can see the series here, on Veoh.

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I've found the Anime World Order podcast a good place for leads on shows to check out.

[hcolleen.livejournal.com]

Linked by atalantapendrag (and this done without reading her comment).

I got into anime via Adult Swim and working nights. I really liked Trigun (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=88) and Witch Hunter Robin (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=913). Trigun starts out kind of goofy and then gets more serious as it progresses. WHR is a slower paced story, but very good, more character driven. Personally, I didn't care for Cowboy Bebop (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=13), but a lot of my friends like it.

Yu Yu Hakusho (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=311) is one of my all time favorites, though I haven't seen the last arc (12 or 14 episodes [though, I was told this was okay since it wasn't nearly as good at the rest of it]).

It took two times through, but I also adore Samurai Deeper Kyo (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1133). The first time, the pacing seemed a bit odd, but the second time it flowed better. Yes, there is a reason I watched it twice. I adore Ogata Megumi and she voices Sanada Yukimura (and Kurama from YYH).

(after reading)
Mononoke is amazing. And Ayakashi~Samurai Horror Tales (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6202), which is related in that Mononoke is an extension of the 3rd arc of Ayakashi.

I also have these (http://hcolleen.net/share) that I like a lot (some of them listed, some not). And, if you tell me more what you like, in general, not just anime, I can fine tune my recommendations (I planned scheduling for an anime room before so I got to be familiar with a lot of titles).

[misterseth.livejournal.com]

My favorites:
-Anything by Miyazaki
-Tenchi Muyo (OAV and movies)
-Dirty Pair
-He is my Master
-Urusei Yatsura

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

Ouran Host Club! Can't believe I didn't link that.

I thought the first two arcs of Ayakashi were kind of meh, though.

[kosaginolegion.livejournal.com]

Our club has been running "Pumpkin Scissors" and "Heroic Age". The former is about a team of soldiers running a relief effort after a war has pretty well devastated their economy. One of the main characters is a noble who is firmly in the "It's our duty to take care of our people" camp and another was a member of a team of Tank-killers, but is now lost and not at all sure what to do about it.

Heroic Age is good for those who remember the old Starblazers. It's got a lot of similarity but the art is quite a bit better (owing to better techniques and more money.)

[kazokuhouou.livejournal.com]

(Reposted due to HTMFail)

(Linked from atalantapendrag)

High on my list of favorites: Azumanga Daioh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azumanga_daioh), which is just basically schoolgirls and the comedy that ensues. Particularly since one of them is loud and abrasive, one is a giantess that likes kitties, one is twelve and one is...special. (Sadly, the last two are relatively normal. The same can't be said for their teacher.)

Course, if you want a even more crackish MALE version then I definitely recommend Cromartie High School (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromartie_High_School). Let me put it this way. The student body consists of the worst delinqents in Japan, a genius who deliberately went into that school to improve its image, a robot, a gorilla, an alien, and Freddie Mercury.

Now, for more serious stuff, you already watched my pick, Death Note, and Mononoke was already recced, so I'll go for one of my guilty pleasures: Simoun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simoun_(anime)), which is basically lesbian fighter pilots, but it's better than it sounds.

These next two go hand in hand, cause you'd understand some of the in-jokes of the latter if you've seen the former first: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_melancholy_of_haruhi_suzumiya), an anime based of a series of novels about a high school club run by a girl, Haruhi, who wants to find aliens, time travellers, and espers. The irony is, through never-completely-explained events, Haruhi became a god, which attracted the very people she's looking for. And they can't tell her, cause then she'll rewrite the universe like she did three years ago. And this is from the point of view of the only normal person in the club, Kyon.

Now, this one, you really do need some knowledge of Haruhi to watch. Here's why. Lucky Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Star_(manga)) is Seinfeld meets Azumanga Daioh meets otaku, particularly since Konata (little miss blue hair) is a video game/anime fan, particularly of Haruhi.

And lastly...well, actaully, I can't recommend the mecha anime of choice, cause it's not anime at all, it's actually American. Go figure.

Then again, you can ignore me, I'm on a Britcom/Formula One kick right now, so what do I know? :P

[animator55.livejournal.com]

Rose of Versailles and Galaxy Express 999. Both are older but Awesome! :)

You can can watch Galaxy Express 999 on crunchyroll.

As for Rose of Versailles... it shouldn't be too difficult to find.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

El-Hazard. My love is for Fujisawa, the hard-drinking hard-smoking aging schoolteacher who turns out to have super-strength in this alternate world where he and three of his students land, even cooler than the mecha-demons, the cross-dressing girl-sex, the Bugrom and the world-building. Ignore the sequel, a crappy TV-series version. And check out the Princess' very special toilet...

[regalpewter.livejournal.com]

Ditto on the miyazaki films, 'Pom-poko' is a fave along with 'My Neighbor Totoro', and 'Kiki's Delivery Service'. I will reccommend 'Ghost in the Shell' and frankly 'Macross' and 'Southern Cross'. 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya' gets a big thumbs up. 'La Chevier D'eon' is a recent personal fave With "I, my, me, strawberry eggs" as well (You might reconize my icon from it).
YIS,

[eyezofwolf.livejournal.com]

I cannot say enough about Deathnote - it was an AMAZING series and I loved it. The live action movies they filmed of it are also good, but not as good - and they end VERY differently. I think it is worth checking that out if you enjoyed the anime, just to see something different.

If you like some lighthearted anime that has a deep story when you get into it, I would recommend Trigun. The first few episodes are completely goofy, but then you start to see some of the story and it takes a serious turn seriously quickly.

If you enjoyed Samurai 7, you will probably like Samurai Champloo. It has a very similar flavor to it. The premise is that you have two very different samurai traveling together - the reckless beserker warrior and the trained martial arts expert. They get along, but also rub against each other for some amusing fight scenes and also humorous events. And the story is decent.

And finally - Fullmetal Alchemist. I was reluctant since I had heard so much good about it that I was afraid my expectations would not be lived up to. But, it is REALLY well done. A wonderful story about brothers, the price of actions, what you need to do and sacrifice for people you care about, etc. Amazingly well done and definitely one of my favorites.

Of right - and Cowboy Bebop! Duh!!!!

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

I do know a couple of people who are into books per se - well, anything with text, really. A personal library covering thousands of subjects. A range of magazine collections. Two or three newspaper subscriptions. Browser bookmarks full of news and literary sites of all descriptions.

One's said she'd even read advertising material and the back of cereal packets if she hadn't gotten her text fix in a while.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

I'm not as up on the newer stuff as my anime watching lapsed for a while. Most of what I recommend would be "classics."

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (http://www.amazon.com/Irresponsible-Captain-Complete-Remastered-Collection/dp/B001VG2M6C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1251282748&sr=8-1), which is based on a series of Japanese SF novels. Tylor is at first glance a slacker who ends up in the space navy as a way to avoid work. As you watch the series your opinion will waver back and forth. Is he a genius who hides behind a facade of dumb luck, or the luckiest moron who ever lived? The TV series is followed up by an OVA box set. (http://www.amazon.com/Irresponsible-Captain-Tylor-Remastered-Collection/dp/B002689ASW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1251282748&sr=8-2)

Maison Ikkoku
(out of print, but can be found - ask me if nothing else)
Best. Romantic. Comedy. Ever.

El Hazard: The Magnificent World. There are multiple series to this, basically alternate universe type things. The original is the best.

Anything from Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli.

Rurouni Kenshin (http://www.amazon.com/Rurouni-Kenshin-TV-Season-One/dp/B000ASATEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1251283141&sr=1-1) is a probably the only "fight of the week" anime I'll watch, as it also has strong individual and arc stories. Well worth watching.

And, since Disney ripped it off (badly), I think you should watch Nadia, Secret Of Blue Water (http://www.amazon.com/Nadia-Vol-Secret-Water-Collection/dp/B001GTFP1S/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1251283474&sr=1-6). (link is to part 1 - here's part 2 (http://www.amazon.com/Nadia-Vol-Secret-Water-Collection/dp/B001IOQW5O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1251283474&sr=1-5) - notice you can get them used for almost nothing)

(http://www.amazon.com/El-Hazard-Magnificent-World-Boxed/dp/B00005BJPK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1251282665&sr=8-1) ()

[alverant.livejournal.com]

In college and until I moved to Chicagoland I was part of the University of Iowa anime club. We watching NGE and before the last episode the director, Mike, said that if we have any questions just ask him when it was over. After we saw the episode the whole room (about 50 people) said in near unison, "Mike?" It was my first real WTF moment in anime.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

I slowly lost interest in anime when I picked up the MMORPG City of Heroes. It was partially due to the time I spent playing and partially because the fan service, the boobs on the female characters, got to be a little much. I think it was Divergence Eve that finally pushed me away. It went from being fun to being gratuitous. I've been trying to get back into anime, if only to watch the DVDs I purchased but never got around to watching, but it's been hard with all the other things I've been doing. Maybe if I could find the right series...

The only anime I can recommend are the classics.
Slayers
Tenchi Muyo
El Hazard

El Hazard has always been my favorite. It's one of the first anime series I ever watched and still holds a special place in my fandom heart.
And if I may have a Lukeski moment, I did a MST3K of the spin-off TV series http://jason.youngberg.com/mst3k/wanintro.htm and wrote some fanfics http://jason.youngberg.com/elhazard/elhazard.htm
(my site is undergoing some revision so please excuse the looks)

Part of why El Hazard is a favorite is because it was the "ordinary people sent to an alternate dimension" genre. I also liked Magic Knights Rayearth and Legend of Himiko (working through that one now) and I'm interested in any good series along those lines.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Yeah, El Hazard the OVA is the best one. Second best was the TV series. Then there's a big gap in quality before the second OVA and "The Alternative World". Only good thing about the second OVA was that it was short.

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Heh. Yeah, that'll do it. Those last two episodes...

The movie is better. Possibly, only relatively better, but...

[alverant.livejournal.com]

I don't care of it's better. I just want to know WTF happened. It's like the series creator is a sadist who wanted to do just screw with the minds of the fans.

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

As I have heard it explained, it's more accurate to say that the creator was clinically depressed, went off his meds halfway through the series, and became completely disillusioned with anime fandom...

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

If you're an anime fan, which ones would you recommend to newbies?

I refer you back to your first paragraph.

Give me a specific person, and a read of the titles on that person's bookshelf, and I might be able to recommend a title, be it Revolutionary Girl Utena, Macross, Eureka Seven, Elfen Lied, the complete works of Studio Ghibli, or something else.

Without that information, I might end up doing the equivalent of handing It to somebody who has a house full of Harlequin romance novels.

[blienky27.livejournal.com]

Ouran High School Host Club is essentially teenage-girl drivel with some oddness thrown in, but it still holds a wonderful place in my heart, if only for the sheer ridiculousness of it.

Anything by Miyazaki, of course.

Trigun and Fullmetal Alchemist are a couple more that I really love.

[sillyfox.livejournal.com]

Add in the fact that the studio had practically no budget by the time they reached the last episodes.

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

I'll second FLCL and Azumanga Daioh (which is my slice of anime Zen).

[fmullen7.livejournal.com]

Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" is my favorite movie. Some of the series I like are: "Those Who Hunt Elves", "R.O.D.", "Karin" and "Magister Negimgi". But there are so many out there I can't remember them all...

[fmullen7.livejournal.com]

Oops, that's "Magister Negimagi"

[thelongshot.livejournal.com]

Record of Lodoss War is probably the prototypical fantasy and is a decent starting point. For me, the best fantasy series is Twelve Kingdoms. Fushigi Yugi is also quite good. I've heard Berserk is quite good but I haven't watched it yet.

If you like the silly, Slayers is definitely a must-watch.

[thelongshot.livejournal.com]

Actually, Rose of Versailles has never been released in the US. You have to import it if you want to see it and I'm not sure if there is a copy out there in english.

[thelongshot.livejournal.com]

Second. The OVA series is excellent. The TV series (The Alternative World) sucks.

[thelongshot.livejournal.com]

I personally recommend anything by Satoshi Kon. Just about everything is pretty mature and it isn't really meant for teenagers.

Movies:
Perfect Blue
Millenium Actress
Tokyo Godfathers
Paprika

TV Series:
Paranoia Agent

I'm also a big fan of Akitaroh Daichi. He's behind stuff like Kodomo no Omocha, Fruits Basket, Jubei-chan and others. Not all things are as silly as those, with "Now And Then, Here And There" being a real bummer of a series, but his stuff is quality.

There are plenty more I can say, but that's a decent starting point. If you want more, I do reviews on my journal on occasion. Just browse my tags.

[turk187.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Hikaru no go, I just wish they would release the last of it dubbed (I don't like subs, so sue me.)