Suggestions for an Old Fan?

[Ryouga_the_Lost]

Hey everyone!

I started watching Anime when I was in my freshman year of high school (that would be in 1990... yes, I'm old). I was an avid collector of imported anime on VHS and then on DVD when they came out, but was forced to stop collecting because I couldn't afford it, and anime dropped out of my life entirely for a while, except on rare occasions when I got nostalgic and broke out the old Bubblegum Crisis or Ranma episodes on VHS.

Recently a friend suggested downloading torrents, and I've been able to afford to buy a few anime on DVD, and now I am ravenously devouring any anime interesting enough to hold my attention. However, having watched everything suggested to me by friends (I've recently seen Maboraho despite my current aversion to harem shows, as well as Ginban Kaleidoscope, Strawberry Panic, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Rosario Vampire, Sasameki Koto, and am in the process of downloading Macademi Wasshoi! but haven't watched it yet), I'm looking for more suggestions. I've read most of the posts in this section of the forums, but I know next to nothing about most of the titles, so names alone aren't doing much to help me determine what would interest me and what wouldn't:

Current Points of Interest:

- Right now, I find myself adoring romantic plots, but I am geared more toward romance with a realistic presentation than anything too over the top. Comical relationships are fine as long as the relationship itself is fairly believable (I saw Sasameki Koto and thought the relationship between Ushio and Sumika was adorable, just as an idea of the sort of thing that's fine with me).

- Plots that are intricate enough to make you think but not so overly complex as to require you to take anti-ADD meds to understand them. Granted, the only anime I can point to in this area are all quite old, but hey.. I've been out of the game for a while. I loved Akira, Key the Metal Idol, the old Ghost in the Shell movie from a while back.

- Action, especially fantasy-based action, is great, as long as it's not the only thing that drives the plot. However, this point is a double-edged sword for me. I adored Record of Lodoss War, and what I've seen of Bleach has been interesting so far, but on the other hand, when the action becomes ridiculously overdone (Dragonball Z, I'm looking at YOU here), my interest evaporates.

What I'm NOT looking for:

- Harem anime. Ranma 1/2 was one of my all-time favorite anime series, and to this day I still love it, but after watching it and a few others like it, I'm sort of harem-ed out. I don't mind multiple love interests to a point, but I'd like to keep to nothing larger than love triangles. Love dodecagons are a bit much for me now.

- Mecha anime. This was my bread and butter back in the day. I've seen Macross, Gundam, Evangelion, Gunbuster, and a host of other old mecha anime, and to be honest, I loved them all at the time. However, like the harem thing, I'm kind of mecha-ed out. I see giant robots these days and roll my eyes before stopping the playback.

In the end, I'm a fickle watcher of anime. I may love one show, but something very similar to it is a show I will hate, or it just won't interest me. I tried to get into Inuyasha, for example, but it just didn't hold my interest, and the same went for Naruto. I might be willing to invest in DVDs if a series is licensed in the US, so I don't mind licensed suggestions, but please, if you are kind enough to offer a recommendation or two, please also give me some general idea of the plot? It doesn't have to be extremely detailed, but some idea of what I'm getting into would be vastly appreciated. Thanks to anyone who responds!

[CeDeR]

Seirei no Moribito
Ghost Hound
Hajime no Ippo
Monster
Mushishi
The twelve kingdoms

Defeinitely a must watch and what i consider some of the best animes out there.

And ill add this one too just because i finished watching recently and its pretty good although it could have been better IMO.
Kure-nai

BTW they all meet your requirements.

[Haak]

Originally Posted by Ryouga_the_Lost

Current Points of Interest:

- Right now, I find myself adoring romantic plots, but I am geared more toward romance with a realistic presentation than anything too over the top. Comical relationships are fine as long as the relationship itself is fairly believable (I saw Sasameki Koto and thought the relationship between Ushio and Sumika was adorable, just as an idea of the sort of thing that's fine with me).

- Plots that are intricate enough to make you think but not so overly complex as to require you to take anti-ADD meds to understand them. Granted, the only anime I can point to in this area are all quite old, but hey.. I've been out of the game for a while. I loved Akira, Key the Metal Idol, the old Ghost in the Shell movie from a while back.

- Action, especially fantasy-based action, is great, as long as it's not the only thing that drives the plot. However, this point is a double-edged sword for me. I adored Record of Lodoss War, and what I've seen of Bleach has been interesting so far, but on the other hand, when the action becomes ridiculously overdone (Dragonball Z, I'm looking at YOU here), my interest evaporates.

You ought to tell us what you've already seen.

For an anime that fits the first criteria, I would recommend 5 Centimeters Per Second, Honey & Clover and Cross Game.

For an anime that fits the two other criteria, I would recommend Kara no Kyoukai.

[Vexx]

The above... and in rom-com - also REC! ... Toradora! ... Lovely*Complex ....

um.... Kurozuka ... Moribito (I'll repeat that one) ... I actually enjoyed Soul Eater (but mostly because it deviated from typical action-shounen formula like Bleach/Naruto/DBZ, etc.) Gurren Lagann (mecha but enjoyed because of the deviations from "typical mecha")

There's a lot of "daily life" 4-koma comedy series to recommend... but I'm not hearing any interest in that in the post.

[White Manju Bun]

For fantasy and romance based Id suggest Tears to Tiara. Also for romance with comedy and a very good storyline, you have to watch Princess Tutu. Dont let the name fool you its an awesome anime.

[Haak]

Oh how could i forget Toradora!

Yes I second Toradora!. It has some slapstick comedy but I don't think it's anything over the top.

[Guardian Enzo]

I'm going with True Tears for your realistic romance and Seirei no Moribito for your intricate plot.

[incube]

Ill suggest u check on my list of watched anime series.. http://myanimelist.net/animelist/cubito

[Sackett]

For your romance I'd suggest:

1: Cross Game Probably the best anime of last year, and a great realistic (slow) romance.

2: Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi, she did this one before Ranma 1/2 and in my opinion it is her greatest work. No fantasy, just real life. Probably the greatest romance anime I've ever seen. One of the major patterns for most romance anime today. Starts really slow, but once you get to the second season you suddenly realize that there has been gradual character development along the whole way. Already watched the whole thing through 4 times since I discovered it two years ago.

3: Honey and Clover Love hurts sometimes.

4: Kimi Ni Todoke So girly and sweet you might choke from it. But a very gentle love story where good people work things out.

5: Toradora An interesting variation on the common tsundere / baka pairings. Try a couple episodes out to see if you like it.

For Intricate Plots, hard to pick since you don't want to complicated.

1: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I'm sure you've heard this one before. If you watch it in DVD order (or 2009 order with season 1.5) it probably won't be too complicated for you to follow. If you want to be confused watch in broadcast order.

2: Fullmetal Alchemist Pretty complex plot, good for an anime original ending.

3: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood The currently running anime that follows the manga ending instead. If the first FMA anime was a 9 out of 10, this one is a 10 out of 10.

For action:

1: Crest of the Stars Don't be fooled by the Ahb princess. It's all Ahb propaganda. Long live the United Mankind!

2: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Awesome action scene. Just wait till you see the Mustang vs Lust fight scene. Holy Cow! Hits near movie quality there.

3: Soul Eater Ending was a bit off the rails for me, but pretty good action comedy adventure through out.

4: Chrome Shelled Regios I rather liked it, until the ending went all weird on us. Anime original endings, what can I say. Overall it came in as a anime that didn't stand out as great, but wasn't bad either. Except for Felli, who is awesome.

Now a word about mecha. If you are tired of mecha but used to like it, you might take a gander at Full Metal Panic it's... different. Particularly the Fumoffu season. (If you've ever seen all the 70s and 80s American war movies, you'll die laughing). Having seen Gundam before also made it pretty funny. A good romance too.

[Ryouga_the_Lost]

Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions. A lot of people have suggested Cross Game, but I find myself wondering if it will hold my interest given that I am not the least bit interested in baseball?

As for the anime I've watched, if I didn't mention it in my original post, it's because all of the anime I've watched, whether good or not, were at least 15 years old. Other than the ones I mentioned, I've seen Kimegure Orange Road, Street Fighter the Animated Movie, Ninja Scroll, Ah! My Goddess, New Dominion Tank Police, 801 Airbats TTS, Vampire Hunter D, Silent Mobius, Demon City Shinjuku, Uratesi Yatsura, Sailor Moon, Plastic Little, Dragon Half, Mermaid Scar, and a host of other ones whose names I can't remember at the moment.

And I really don't mind daily life-type anime either, as long as it holds my interest. I don't have to be choked up on romance drama, intrigued by mystery and complexity or grinning like a madman at violence. A plain old good story will always get me too.

[Haak]

Originally Posted by Ryouga_the_Lost

Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions. A lot of people have suggested Cross Game, but I find myself wondering if it will hold my interest given that I am not the least bit interested in baseball.

You most likely will. I didn't have an interest in baseball either (and still don't) but i still loved it. You'd be surprised how little it is about baseball.

[MeoTwister5]

I hate baseball so much it bores me to death, but Cross Game is amazing enough for me to actually pretend I like the sport.

[Vexx]

I like the IDEA of baseball... but the only way I can stand to watch it is live at the stadium ... preferably minor league. The series is very good though I've had a terrible time catching up with it.

Azumanga Daioh (licensed) is a classic "daily life" adaptation of a 4 panel comic series that followed a group of students through their high school years.
A more recent choice might be the currently running K-On! (in its second season, still unlicensed) which focuses on a light rock music club.

Other examples I find enjoyable were Sketchbook ~Full Colors (unlicensed) about an eccentric art class and ARIA (licensed, 3 seasons) set on Mars 250 years from now in a terraformed New Venice.

Last romance suggestion with a bit of action and heavy economics is Spice&Wolf (licensed 1 season, 2nd season still unlicensed) about a traveling merchant who ends up with a wolf-goddess harvest deity companion.

[Ryouga_the_Lost]

Thanks again to everyone who responded. I'm looking into getting a hold of torrents for the unlicensed animes that were suggested, as well as a few others recommended by friends, and am trying to hunt down DVDs for some of the licensed animes that people spoke of.

And I was also thoroughly delighted to find a Ranma 1/2 special on here! New Ranma material! Who knew? ^.^

[woodearth]

Since you enjoyed the ghost in the shell movie, why not try the two tv series - Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex and 2nd gig. Fits the intricate plot and action requirements.