Triple A, High Quality, Must-See Anime?

[_Alex_]

I'm still a newcomer to anime, so I need a little help figuring out what to watch next.

To start things off, here's the list of all the anime I've seen and enjoyed:

• Death Note
• Naruto (plus Shippuuden)
• Lucky Star
• Fullmetal Alchemist
• Cowboy Bebop
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (plus Haruhi-chan)
• Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (plus R2)
• D.Gray-Man
• Samurai Champloo
• Mushi-shi

Currently I'm trying out Monster and starting to watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Oh, and the new episodes of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya in the re-broadcast.

Anything similar to the above anime are fine to suggest. However, I'm also looking for anything that you may consider to be "triple A," "high quality" or "must-see" whether it's similar or dissimilar to the list I gave.

I don't really enjoy mecha or romance. I can tolerate either in an anime if it isn't the main focus, like how mecha wasn't the main focus in Code Geass or how romance wasn't dominant in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (any news on season 2, by the way?). I don't like sports at all, though.

Thanks.

[jedinat]

Triple A, High Quality, Must-See Anime:
Juuni Kokuki
Haibane Renmei
Hellsing (2006)
Trigun

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by jedinat

Triple A, High Quality, Must-See Anime:
Juuni Kokuki
Haibane Renmei
Hellsing (2006)
Trigun

I will second Juuni Kokuki. It has slow start so bear with it, at least until you meet the "mouse"

If you have time to devote into anime, i recommend Higurashi + all the tips for each Ep (that you can find in Higurashi sub-forum). It took me almost 3 years to decide to check Higurashi out and everytime i finish an ep, I regret why i didn't do it sooner.

Darker than Black is also really nice. Can check out the 1st two and seeing if it's your genre

My final recommmendation is: Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen but this one involve lots of romance

[Smithsky]

Seirei no Moribito
Last Exile

Ow and seconding Higurashi and DtB.

[Theowne]

Never thought I'd see Naruto and High quality in the same thread. Just kidding.

Personally I think the films of Studio Ghibli are the "must-see's" of the anime world and I consider them a cut above the rest. The best place to start, in my opinion, is Princess Mononoke.

[Guardian Enzo]

My "must see at all costs" list would include the following:

Seirei no Moribito
Last Exile
Evangelion
Natsume Yuujinchou/Zoku
FLCL
Gurren-Laggan
Ghost Hound
Petopeto-san

Princess Mononoke (movie)
5 CM Per Second (movie)

[Telmah]

I'll second Haibane Renmei. I'll thrid Higurashi.

I'll add works by Makoto Shinkai...Voices of a Distant Star (even though it is mecha and romance ironically, though only 30 minutes so it shouldn't be too tedious even if you absolutely hate it) and 5 Centimeters Per Second (romance, coming of age story).

I'd highly suggest most of the most of the Ghibli films--Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

Dennou Coil is another really good choice.

[SeijiSensei]

Sometimes "must-see" is a synonym for "should-have-seen," as in programs any serious anime fan "should" have watched. I'd put Evangelion and Haruhi in that category because they represent common points of reference in the anime universe. I don't think either of them is as good as Monster or Junni Kokuki in the "quality" sense. (Of course, quality and taste are very hard to disentangle; I'm giving my opinion of these shows based on my taste.)

You already have the good sense to watch Monster, so I don't need to recommend that here. Of the shows represented by those iconic ladies in my signature, I'd probably only identify Mononoke Hime, Moribito, Junni Kokuki, and perhaps Mononoke and Dennou Coil as "must-watch" shows in the quality dimension.

Spoiler for footnote:

In the case of Mononoke I think the original "Bakeneko" story was the best of all the arcs.

I also don't think there is a "quality" dimension, since "qualities" can't be easily mapped into a simple linear scale. That's a discussion that would demand a reading list!

Theowne has an excellent point about Studio Ghibli, but comparing movies with production budgets many times that of the typical anime series seems a bit unfair to the latter. Among television series, Dennou Coil comes the closest, I think, to the Ghibli paradigm. It's beautifully drawn, with a complex and multi-layered story that can appeal to both children and adults. It also boasts an exquisite musical score. Moribito, Noein, and perhaps the currently-airing Kemono no Souja Erin all fall into this category of excellent recent television shows for general audiences.

I thought Bakeneko/Mononoke pushed the envelope in terms of illustration for anime far beyond what I'd seen before. For that reason alone I think it's a "must-watch." Do yourself a favor and spend the $7 at RightStuf for the Bakeneko DVD before watching Mononoke.

[C.A.]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

My "must see at all costs" list would include the following:

Evangelion
FLCL
Gurren-Lagann

These 3 without Top wo Nerae! 1 and 2 is incomplete.

Top wo Nerae!1 is Gainax's favourite gem, so much that its homaged in every single Gainax anime after that. And Gainax celebrated their 20th anniversary with Top wo Nerae!2, undoubtedly the most beautifully animated mecha anime ever, Top wo Nerae!1 was also the best animated mecha anime of its time in 1988.

Top wo Nerae! 1 and 2 is also known as Gunbuster and Diebuster, its one of the greatest mecha series ever.

[DragoZERO]

Here are some of my favorites. Check out their genres to help you decide which ones you may like.

• Bamboo Blade
• Cowboy Bebop
• Eureka Seven
• Freedom
• Full Metal Panic! and sequels.
• Ghost in the Shell and sequels and spin-off series.
• Gurren Lagann
• All Macross series
• All Gundam series
• Minami-ke and sequels.
• Outlaw Star
• Shana and sequel.
• Shonen Onmyouji
• Toradora!
• True Tears
• Xam`d: Lost Memories
• Zero no Tsukaima

[ddwkc]

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a must see if you are truly talking about AAA titles.

Also seconding and adding to what I consider triple A:
-Monster
-Mononoke
-Juuni Kokuki
-Haibane Renmei
-Cowboy Bebop
-Seirei no Moribito
-Mushishi
-Dennou Coil
-Kino no Tabi
-Fruits Basket
-Princess Tutu
-Planetes
-Rurouni Kenshin OVA
-Ghost in the Shell TV series
-Ghibli movies

I don't consider those triple A (double A and a half), but they are must see:
-FLCL
-Evangelion
-Trigun
-Azumanga Daioh
-Ouran High School Host Club
-Serial Experiments Lain
-Fullmetal Panic series
-Akira
-the original Gundam
-the original Macross

Must see for cheer fun factor:
-Toppa Tengen Gurren Lagann
-Eureka Seven
-Last Exile
-Hellsing OVA
-Elfen Lied
-basically everything else already said

I will add:
-Akagi
-Kaiji
-Terra e
-Escaflowne
-Irresponsable Captain Taylor
-Victorian Romance Emma
-Kaleido Star
-Hikaru no Go
-Hajime no Ippo
-Now and Then, Here and There
-Fantastic Children
-RahXephon

[Sackett]

Well...

My "must see" list is:

Starblazers
Maison Ikokku
Fullmetal Alchemist
Haruhi Suzumiya

You've already seen two of them. Maison Ikkoku is romance, and Starblazers is old.

Cross Game might be on it's way to "must see" status. It's a coming of age story, with a strong baseball emphasis (but rationally- not the normal over the top treatment of sports that anime uses).

Others that I think you might like:

Full Metal Panic: Mecha, but that isn't the main focus. "The Second Raid" season is the best in my opinion but you need to watch the first season to understand what is going on.

Chrono Crusade: Crazy premise, but probably worth checking out

[Cipher]

Must-see titles?? considering the fact that we're dealing with every individual's definition on whats a must-see..i'd say ...ALL!!..hehe XD
but mine would be Hunter X Hunter, Eureka Seven-(amazing), Code Geass and Rurouni Kenshin...the movie

[Shadow Kira01]

It really depends on the audiences but I will make some suggestions:

Cowboy Bebop
Death Note
Rurouni Kenshin
White Album

[Cipher]

-_-" why white album???

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by Cipher

-_-" why white album???

Yeah.. it is really good but its not over yet so you can't really recommend it.

[gigaloki]

The Legacy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Legendary Gurren Lagann

Higurashi no naku koro ni (all seasons)

School Days (i'll kill anyone who objects *GRRR*)

Naruto (even though i dont view it regularly, still Triple A)

Death Note (Desu Noto)

TO-Love Ru (Quad A!! Perfectio!)

and also Code Geass (I WILL DESTROY BRITANNIA! For the name of my prince, im one of its cast xD just kiddin)


I think Umineko no naku koro ni will soon be also in this list

[DragoZERO]

I strongly object to School Days. It scarred me for life. I couldn't eat after I finished it. Horrific.. horrific.

[james0246]

Since the majority of my favourite series have been added already, here are a few series and several movies:

Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu
Utena

Regular Movies:
Millennium Actress
Jin-Roh
Night on the Galactic Railroad
Diary of Tortov Roddle

Series Movies:
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
Patlabor: The Movie
Patlabor: The Movie 2
Urusei Yatsura Movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer

[_Alex_]

Originally Posted by Theowne

Never thought I'd see Naruto and High quality in the same thread. Just kidding.

Heh, I admit it's my least favourite of the anime I listed, but I enjoyed it nonetheless (albeit all the not-so-good parts about it). I put it in my list to show that I like action anime. :P

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I've actually watched Evangelion all the way through to see what all the fuss was about, but I didn't enjoy it. I've also tried Eureka Seven (too mecha) and Fruits Basket (too romance-ish).

A lot of you suggested Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, so I started watching that. It's definitely intriguing and innovative and I like it so far. I'm going to stick with that and Monster for the time being.

I'm going to continue to read up about all of your suggestions. Thanks again.