Something truly awesome...(or essential anime that everyone needs to see)

[Corn]

I need something good. Mostly so far I have watched Shounen Anime.

I like stuff like bleach, naruto, samurai 7, FLCL, full metal alchemist, berserk, death note, GITS and so on.

I guess some of my ultimate favorites are cowboy bebop, samurai champloo, wonderful days, akira.. and mononoke-hime. These really affected me emotionally.


I also liked shows like Air, wolfs rain, trigun and gungrave, jin-roh, grave of the fireflies.



I tried watching a few episodes of shows like mushisi, one piece, eureka 7, elfen lied, gantz and a few others but they didnt instantly captivate me.


I need something TRULY ESSENTIAL. Something that you cant call yourself a fan of anime without having watched.

I keep hearing about shows like Full metal panic, fruits basket, great teacher okizava(or something...) and all does other shows.


I would like to see something essential. something relevant. something that is big in popularity and good that everyone can talk about, and has a large following.

im not into horror, mech and school-girl stuff but i can take it in moderations. for example, Air, I thought that anime had a cool mix of everything. im not saying it has to be action or shounen.


I also thought about Neon genesis Evanglion, chobits, kiba, beck, prince of tennis and all does other shows you guys talk about.
or maybe I should try reading a manga. I have never read a manga before.

Dragon ball! or monster! Have never seen does shows.


I could just use some general help. something with funny characters that will make me feel positive, or a sad depressing anime, or a good anime with a slice of life that will give me stuff to think about.

Right now my real life is boring and shallow. I could use some anime that awakes emotions in me. I dont care if its sadness, or joy or whatever. I just need an anime that makes me feel alive.

and it really dont have to be action. watching bleach/naruto is enough for me.

[7Th]

Evangelion...

[Manifold]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Studio Ghibli.

[Twisted Reality]

Originally Posted by Corn

I need something good. Mostly so far I have watched Shounen Anime.

I like stuff like bleach, naruto, samurai 7, FLCL, full metal alchemist, berserk, death note, GITS and so on.

I guess some of my ultimate favorites are cowboy bebop, samurai champloo, wonderful days, akira.. and mononoke-hime. These really affected me emotionally.


I also liked shows like Air, wolfs rain, trigun and gungrave, jin-roh, grave of the fireflies.



I tried watching a few episodes of shows like mushisi, one piece, eureka 7, elfen lied, gantz and a few others but they didnt instantly captivate me.


I need something TRULY ESSENTIAL. Something that you cant call yourself a fan of anime without having watched.

I keep hearing about shows like Full metal panic, fruits basket, great teacher okizava(or something...) and all does other shows.


I would like to see something essential. something relevant. something that is big in popularity and good that everyone can talk about, and has a large following.

im not into horror, mech and school-girl stuff but i can take it in moderations. for example, Air, I thought that anime had a cool mix of everything. im not saying it has to be action or shounen.


I also thought about Neon genesis Evanglion, chobits, kiba, beck, prince of tennis and all does other shows you guys talk about.
or maybe I should try reading a manga. I have never read a manga before.

Dragon ball! or monster! Have never seen does shows.


I could just use some general help. something with funny characters that will make me feel positive, or a sad depressing anime, or a good anime with a slice of life that will give me stuff to think about.

Right now my real life is boring and shallow. I could use some anime that awakes emotions in me. I dont care if its sadness, or joy or whatever. I just need an anime that makes me feel alive.

and it really dont have to be action. watching bleach/naruto is enough for me.

I think The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is the "awesome" and "essential" anime that you're looking for. (Huge bias on my part.) It pretty much spans the whole span of genres: mystery, slice of life, high-school life, action, magical girl, philosophy, drama, sci-fi, comedy and juggles it all and still remains brilliant. This is because it pays homage to a lot of different anime and then cleverly subverts their tropes and cliches for humor and for plot. There are also some references to Gundam, Detective Conan, some sports anime and others. But despite all these different genres, the show still has an overarching plot of its own, so you don't need to have actually watched any of those shows. But you'll at least get an anime sampler all the way through. I also find the art and animation to be quite pleasant to look at.

Also, stay for at least two-episodes. The first episode is funnier once you realize that it's a poorly-pieced together home movie made by the characters and is meant to be a hook. The second episodes picks up as "the true beginning" and our male high-school student, Kyon, opens up with introspection with a feeling of apathy towards the fact that reality is boring and not magical enough. He's struggling with having his childhood world being dashed against hard, hard reality. And he then meets the titular girl who still hasn't let go of her childhood dreams.

Unfortunately for you, the series is licensed, so you'll have to buy it when the DVD comes out, or dig around the stinky pits of the internet at your own legal/ethical peril etcetera. I do however, get the feeling that this anime is "essential" since I think it delivers on a lot of the common themes that many anime simply fail at. It also has a pretty large following on these boards and enjoyed a very brief spike in popularity on the jaded folks in the Penny Arcade forums. In fact, many fans are still holding their breaths for a sequel. (And they'd better deliver considering how popular it is in Japan and here in America.)

[Spark]

Originally Posted by 7Th

Evangelion...

Seconded. ^.^

And should you want to watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya or Evangelion without spending moneda, I'm sure you can find the episodes on youtube. Might not be the best quality, but hey, it's something. :3

[felix]

Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
Shakugan no Shana

~ Can't say much about them, since every bit is too awesome to spoil. x3

[Bonta Kun]

looks like i may have to see what Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi is all about

i too recommend Shakugan no Shana, and i'll add Full Metal Panic(altho i'll just be saying this as its my fav anime)

Princess Mononoke is great butthen so are most of the Studio Ghibli movies

[Psychotic_Virtue]

From The Top Of My Head "Code Geass" And "Prince Of Tennis" Might Suit Your Taste...

P.V.

[Deathkillz]

Elemental Gelade ~ one of the best Shounen types out there :3

[capture]

Kanon the remake is nice it isn't as depressing as Air but IMO the story is much better and also the grfx/effect/animation is much nicer...

seconded Full Metal Panic! if you haven't watched it yet give it a try... it has nice story, nice animation, and also popular I think...

and also seconded TMOHS ~ Twisted Reality said it all

[Skyfall]

I second Kanon.

If you are considering Evangelion, i would say skip it and go for Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor instead. It has roughly the same theme, and as far as extracting emotions and making me feel for the characters and their plight - this show indeed accomplishes that.

Zegapain would be another thing i would highly recommend. It has a very "Matrix" feeling to it. While the mecha are there, the show focuses mostly on characters and their relationships.

Fantastic Children is a very good (and underrated) show. SciFi/adventure/mystery.

[hoang24]

Definitely Code Geass

[digitalmaster287]

You would probably like Death Note. Everyone that I have recommended it to has liked it and some of them aren't really anime watchers. Its really good and realistic because it emphasizes that there isnt really a good and evil, there are just two sides with different perspectives and opinions.

[Furuno]

I second Kanon (remake) and Death Note. You'll definitely like Kanon if you like Air.

And i'd like to add Fate/Stay Night.

[Asai]

Keep in mind if you decide to watch Haruhi, that it was aired anachronistically and the story won't make a hellova lot of sense at first. Especially the first episode, which is actually a 'home movie' they made for the school festival and is episode eleven. It's vital you know this as the first episode put a lot of people off the series entirely. It's essential you watch episode 2-3 before making a call on whether to watch it. In fact, I'd recommend not watching episode 1 first at all.

I didn't put that information in spoilers because I think it's very important to viewers. It's really sad that the first episode put so many people off the best series of 2006. I've recommended the series to lots of friends and forgotten to mention that tidbit of info, so they hated it. Don't want more people to suffer the same fate.

Anyway, for other essential series... PlanetES would be up there. One of the best sci-fi series to date. Though it's pretty much a drama, so isn't everyone's kettle of fish. Hardly an action series like most people think of sci-fi.

Scrapped Princess would be another. Crosses a number of genres so it's hard to categorise exactly, but I'd say fantasy, action, sci-fi, romance, comedy at the least. Very well paced story that plays out well across the series.

Both of them are licensed and fully available on DVD.

Twelve Kingdoms/Juuni Kokuki is another, come to think of it. Also available on DVD now. Very epic story. While it starts out a little slow, with a very annoying protagonist, it turns in to an excellent stories with probably the best character turnaround in all of anime history.

All three Full Metal Panic series are also excellent, people've said FMP but made no mention of Fumoffu or The Second Raid. Note though, that Fumoffu is pretty much a pure comedy, a break between the first and third seasons with heavy action.

Great Teacher Onizuka (aka GTO) is a must watch. You mention you've heard of it... well, make sure to see it. It really is excellent.

If you liked FLCL's zaniness you may want to check out other insane comedies like Shinobuden (called Ninja Nonsense in US release) and to a lesser extent, School Rumble and Yakitate Japan (both crazy, but not totally insane like FLCL and Shinobuden) IMO they're all comedy essentials, but tastes differ and they're certainly not everybody's kettle of fish. But I think somebody who appreciated FLCL will enjoy all the others mentioned, too.

So, there's plenty enough in this thread to give you a start. ^^; I'll stop listing stuff. Could go on all day.

[Hasako]

I also recomend shakugan no shana,The maloncholy of suzumiya haruhi*although the episodes arn't in chronolagical order*,and Fate/stay night.

but others to me are sola*this series is not fully finished*, DA CAPO*omfg this one is like mind blowing for me because i loved it*,and shuffle.


p.s if u havnt watched fruits basket yet, watch it

[Twisted Reality]

The Vision of Escaflowne TV series (Movie sucks. Manga sucks. TV series rocks.)



Because this mech up here has a cloaking device, flight mode, one of those *badass* mercury-tentacle-spear cannons, melee weapons shaped from that same reservoir of mercury and even a flamethrower. Now if you liked seeing that claw on the Guren Nishki fry up a poor knight in Code Geass (I know I did), then Escaflowne is worth it if only for the mecha carnage itself.

Several of these veritable engines burn down a city-state within the course of an evening on episode two. Incidentally, there was something about a epic plot set in a fantasy world and something about the underhanded treachery of burning down said-city.

Escaflowne...because you like steampunk engines of destruction.

[Corn]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I hope these will make an emotional impact on me.

[Theowne]

I would highly reccomend you to take a look at the films out of Studio Ghibli. In terms of "essential anime", I know some will argue with me on this, but I think some of these Ghibli films basically represent some of highest achievement in terms of anime, in characters, storytelling, emotion, even action. The ones I reccomend most are Princess Mononoke (an epic, but also very human and personal), Whisper of the Heart (uplifting, good message, very down-to-earth, something everyone can relate with), and then finally Grave of the Fireflies (tragic, dramatic, a war story). Of course, all anime doesn't click with everybody, but I think these will certainly deliver emotional impact. Don't assume movies can't give as much impact as the longer television shows - these films have definitely stuck more in my mind than most 24 episode series.

[Potatochobit]

well the term essential anime loosely correlates to the term classic anime, of which i see none in your first post and very few that has been recommended. and most of it has been licensed already too.

and yes most ghibli films are classics for the whole family (except a few exceptions like mononoke, LOL) Ghibli is pretty much the JP walt disney productions.

essential anime you should watch

Ranma 1/2 - Viz set a standard that still is above the bar today for R1 releases.
Gundam 0083 - if your going to watch a gundam show, this is the one you want.
you should watch a CLAMP title, maybe Chobits or Rayearth or Angelic Layer

for newer unlicensed shows which I think hold up
Mahoraba heartful days
Hanaukyo maid tai TV (this is old)
Air Gear (recently licensed)
Suzumiya haruhi (recently licensed)

unlicensed shows u may like
Historys strongest disciple kenichi
Claymore
Kyoshira towa to sora
Code Geass
Sumomomo
Ikkitousen 2
Murder Princess