I need a new anime...

[trickdaddy]

So here's my long/precise description of my dilemma. Before reading, I want you to know that everyone has their own views about these things, please don't take me as a snobby brat or anything, I'm just picky. Don't take me as rude, please!

I'm pretty picky about anime. Whilst I do enjoy my fair share of it, it has to REALLY fit up to my standards. Here's my list of liked and disliked:
(You can skip through my reasons why)

Oh, and if you're familiar with The familiar of Zero/Zero no tsukaima, you're especially able to help.

Disliked:

-Dragon ball Z : I know many people like this, and don't hate me for my decision, but I couldn't understand what was going on. I don't really enjoy the whole shouting and "chargin or lazer/attack/weapon/death blow style."

-Gurren Lagen - It sounded good at an overview, but I honestly don't like the giant robots. I'm not to scifi either, more so human combat.

-Bleach - Don't remember specifics

- A few more I didn't care to remember

Liked:

Soul eater: My first legit anime I liked. I'd say I watched all of it in maybe 2 weeks, a few episodes daily. I enjoyed the romance, action, and comedy.

Fullmetal Alchemist Normal/Brotherhood: Again, the older style fighting. More enjoyable with the comedy, romance, etc. I coulda liked a little more between Al and Winry, though.

Zero no tsukaima (The Familiar of Zero):

THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE.(Description of why I liked it below) I thought FMA couldn't be beaten, and this one blew it outta the sky. Started watching it one night at around 11 pm, and was up till 2 in the morning. Next day, all I did was watch it, and eat. I watched the whole thing with barely breaks.

Description of why I liked ZnT - Well, im a sucker when it comes to the unknown hero arising from the unknown place. Especially after all I did as a young child is pretend and play games in similar storylines, this one was perfect. The magic was an added bonus, and I enjoyed minimal firearms (seems less epic when its shooting). The magic, melee combat, and distinguished romance/jealousy was the perfect combo! I don't think this can be beaten. No joke. At. All.



So here's where all of you reading this (congrats for making it this far, Bee Tee Dubs) come in:

I need some new anime. I enjoy the styles of the ones I liked.

But specifically, here's my main needs (Thanks again for reading this!!!):

-Risen hero - someone who's risen up unexpectedly.
They always start out unknowing their importance in life. In Znt, this is mainly Saito, and somewhat Louise, if your Familiar(Pun) with the show.

-Magic / fantasy (/ mixed with current times?) -
I again, enjoy what I used to dream about as a boy. Fantasy, sometimes not too extreme though, it could just be older, like FMA. The mix of modern and fantasy in ZnT was another big thing to catch my eye.

-Romance: I enjoy the whole "soulmate" idea.
Meeting your loved one unexpectedly, maybe even fighting a lot at first, or even when you are falling for each other (ZnT obviously). I don't need any hardcore sex or anything, but some kissing/hugging/romance is another must.

- World crisis / War / Massive dilema -
I figure there's some anime that go through daily lives. I can't enjoy that. It needs something big, a need for a good hero, one who must take on one challange, or even multiple challenges, to face one great one in the end linked to the rest (ZnT).

- Graphics details: Not too much, not too little!
I enjoy the styles of the ones i've watched, nice looking quality, newer, but not overly done to where there's almost TOO much detail, like this one here:
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl...anime&aid=4404
but also not underdone. My eyes need to be just appealed as the mind and sould while I watch my shows.
Too much. That's all I can say.

-Subs or Dubs?
Well, thats something I don't care about. Sometimes I think dubbed is better, sometimes I think subbed is better. The voices can make a difference! In ZnT, I watched the first episode in Subbed and Dubbed format, and Subbed took the cake, and smashed it in Dubb's face. If your recomendation has both, say your preferred style!





Well that's about it! Looking through, I kinda didn't expect this to take so much outta everyone's time. Thanks SOOOO much though! I don't often watch anime, whilst I do enjoy occasional cosplay, etc., I never find anime I like, but when I do, I go CRAZY! I would enjoy one, or multiple to watch!

Oh, one more thing, I'd rather not watch some old 6 episode anime. I enjoy longish animes, FMA, soul eater and Znt were all around 50.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME~~~

Btw, one last thought on ZnT, I know there's:
-13 S1 episodes
-12 Episodes in S2-4
-The OVA "Seductive Beach"

is there any other content I should be informed about! I must watch any more available! I'm already rewatching the series again soon, after finishing it today in a nonstop marathon.



Thanks again, TD out ~

[Echoes]

It's great to see that you're passionate about finding more stuff (it really is), but that is a really long post! No worries though, I read it.

I'll try to offer some help, I think I can relate to your situation and taste. First off, as for ZnT, there's really nothing else in terms of anime. Hell, we were lucky that we got the surprisingly good final season earlier this year at all.

The most obvious suggestion (maybe you've watched this already) to anyone who likes ZnT is Shakugan no Shana. The themes are similar, the structure is similar, the look is similar (it's animated by the same studio) and the leading pair are even voiced by the same voice actors! (Kugymiya Rie for Shana/Lousie and Hino Satoshi for Saito/Yuuji.) If you enjoyed the subbed version of ZnT, then that's definitely what you should stick with for Shana as well. Shana has a very similar personality to Lousie, and the series is a fantasy series that takes place in the modern world. Shana is even longer than Znt, with three 24-episode seasons, as well as a short OVA series and a movie, which covers some of the same material as the first season. There's action, comedy, romance and occasional drama; the series has a little bit of everything and is all around a great work.

Another one you might enjoy, and this one is a bit more of a gamble, is Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu. (Legend of the Legendary Heroes.) It has a funny name, but it's surprisingly not an outright comedy. It's more of a classic fantasy tale, with a lot of humor, intrigue and magic-fueled battles. It has a male-female leading pair as well. Give it a few episodes, you'll know if it's right for you or not pretty quickly.

Tales of the Abyss is another solid fantasy series, but this one might be pushing it. It's pretty high-fantasy, so it might be a little much for your taste. Fits your criteria otherwise, though, so might be worth an attempt.

Lastly, for an action-fueled romp more akin to something like Soul Eater, I'd definitely check out the currently airing Magi. A ton of fun with an Arabian-inspired setting full of joyous adventures, sword-fights and more than a little magic. No real romance though. (Yet, anyway.)

Hope some of that helped, you're a tough customer, so there's no guarantee you'll actually like any of it, but I tried! Feel free to come back with some feedback on what you did/did not like, and I'll see if I've got anything else up my sleeve.

[Hiroi Sekai]

Since you're looking for split genres, I'll suggest in a split format; hope that's okay. :3

Risen Hero

Hanasaku Iroha: Matsumae Ohana is suddenly dumped at her grandmother's bathhouse as her mother runs off with a man. Immediately, Ohana is put to work in the bathhouse and isn't very well appreciated. Slowly but surely she has to grow as a person within this theoretical prison.

Kaiji: Kaiji is a two-season series where a pretty ordinary guy named Kaiji suddenly learns that a co-signed loan has fallen to his responsibility after his friend (the debtor) ran away. It all starts with the loan company offering a one-night gambling chance onboard a ship, where winning means freedom and losing basically means slavery. It goes even further though, and it really does blow up as it goes.

Mirai Nikki: The ending is sort of a split idea, but the rising hero is definitely present. Amano Yukiteru is a rather anti-social teenager who spends every day writing journals in his cell phone instead of socializing. Within the dark confines of his room, he also talks with godlike entities Deus ex Machina and Murmur, whom he believes are figments of his imagination. However, when Yukiteru wakes up one morning, Deus has initiated a "battle royale" game of life and death, where only one of twelve diary wielders (with special powers) will survive and claim his throne over space and time.

Summer Wars: Okay, so this is a movie, but it's a great movie. Koiso Kenji is asked by his secret crush Natsuki to her family's summer home for a job, he immediately agrees. All is well until he receives a strange math problem on his cell phone, which Kenji just can't resist trying to solve. Upon determinating the answer however, Kenji causes Oz (the cyber program/world that controls aspects of life itself) to be hacked into. The hacker has some pretty big threats against the entire world, and it's up to Kenji to stop him alongside Natsuki's family.

THE iDOLM@STER: The story of 13 idols who are fighting to make it in the huge world known as the idol industry. They are quickly introduced to a greenhorn producer who greatly struggles with the simplest tasks, but over time they connect and work together to try and achieve the status of "top idol". Tons and tons of great music and fun characters, and it actually gets pretty dramatic at times too.


Magic/Fantasy:

Cardcaptor Sakura: Kinomoto Sakura is your regular grade schooler when one day she stumbles upon a book labelled "The Clow". Inside the book are strange cards bearing magical symbols and imagery. Reading aloud a card titled "Windy", the remaining cards are all blown out into the world. This awakens the protector of the book and cards Keroberos, who appoints Sakura with the title of "Cardcaptor" to retrieve the cards before they cause damage to the world.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica: In a world where civilization lives under the constant threat of dangerous entities known as "witches", ordinary girls are contracted by "incubators" and granted a wish along with power to live their lives fighting against the witches. In this world, an innocent young girl named Madoka and her friends are about to find out how dangerous this task is.

Shakugan no Shana: Sakai Yuuji believes he is living a normal life, when one day hell breaks loose and he finds out he's already dead. His sole existence is the remnant of the deceased person known as a Torch, but even a Torch will slowly fade away and erase the person from existence. Yuuji is almost consumed on the spot by monsters known as "Guze no Tomogara" which feast on Torches, but is saved by a fiery girl with red hair and a burning sword. He names her "Shana" after the name of the sword, and it doesn't take long before Yuuji finds out he's not an ordinary torch. The war against evil begins.

Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi: Or much better known as "Spirited Away". Young Chihiro and her parents are on their way to their new house when they stumble upon what seems to be a deserted carnival. Unaware that spirits wander the grounds, the parents greedily feast on the provisions and are cursed into giant pigs. To turn them back into humans, Chihiro learns that only the sorceress Yubaba can help, but first she must learn to prove her worth in the spirit bathhouse Yubaba runs. (For fantasy, any Miyazawa movie will be absolutely dripping with it)


Romance

Amagami SS: Tachibana Junichi had his heart broken on a Christmas Eve when his date failed to show up. Since then he's been skeptical about dating in general, but that all changes when he spots one of the most beautiful girls in school, Morishima Haruka. The series runs in arcs with different heroines, so consider them separated stories overall.

Clannad/Clannad: After Story: This is the penultimate story of family, love, friendship and hardship. Okazaki Tomoya is a delinquent who one day finds a young girl on the top of the hill to school. Upon talking to her, the two begin to walk the long path of life together. It's one of the few series that is widely known to "make grown men cry", and it's absolutely beautiful.

Kanon: Kanon tells the story of Aizawa Yuuichi, who moves back to the city he moved away from following a tragic event in his past. Here, he begins to run across several young girls who are linked to his past; none of which he can fully remember. (Don't fear the quality, KyoAni just does detailed work) It's widely disliked, but if the quality is the problem, Toei Animation ran the first version of the series back in 2002, which I personally consider to be just as good.

Toradora!: Two feared students of a high school (Ryuuji, the misunderstood dragon and Taiga, the deadly Palmtop Tiger) accidentally bump into each other one day, causing a whirlwind of events to follow that will lead them through the ups and downs of life itself. They don't exactly seem to get along, but that slowly begins to change.


World Crisis/War/Massive Dilemma

Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch: Lelouch Lamperouge is an exiled prince of an empire known as Britannia, and leads out his life posing as a Britannian student. Britannia has overtaken the nation of Japan, and a small group of resistance fighters are constantly attempting to strike back. One fateful day, Lelouch gets caught up in an attack, which eventually leads to him signing a pact with a mysterious girl to save his life. The pact grants him a mind-controlling power known as "Geass", which Lelouch decides to use to exact his personal revenge against Britannia itself.

Death Note: If you like Code Geass, Death Note is basically its non-futuristic sibling. Yagami Light is a successful student who one day stumbles upon a black book called the "Death Note". The book that came from hell itself has the power to kill anyone whose name is written in the pages, and with this sudden power, Light decides to kill off criminals to "cleanse the world". However, it's not long before a genius known as "L" is called to find the murderer.

Steins;Gate: Okabe Rintarou (or as he loves to be called, "Hououin Kyouma!") is a self-proclaimed mad scientist who one day runs into what will become the worst hell ever. Through a period of three weeks, he accidentally invents a working time machine, discovers a nefarious plot by the world's leading organization in science, and gets himself into a nightmare he just can't escape from. Using everything at his disposal, he must alter the world line to one where disasters are prevented. Very sci-fi, but hard to dislike since it's all about the characters.


Hopefully any of those might interest you. I do have more if you're interested, but I left them out since they semi-conflicted with your terms. Oh, and as for dub/sub, that's a decision to be left to the viewer. I almost always watch subs since I really like Japanese seiyuu overall, but needless to say that there are exceptions to this rule, especially if you add personal preference to the equation.

Happy watchings! :3

[MisaoFan]

Considering how much you love ZnT, try The Ambition of Oda Nobuna : it has great animation and storyline. The plot revolves around a highschool student getting stuck in feudal Japan, where he encounters a female warlord whose goal is to conquer the whole country. It contains pretty much everything you like.

[trickdaddy]

Thanks everyone! Being home sick today, I'm going to be doing a TON of searching today.

Thanks again, you're all really helpful!

[Sackett]

Shakugan no Shana is of course the obvious suggestion. Dub is okay, but you'll probably prefer the sub.

I think the following would also be really good choices for you:

Crest of the Stars and sequels Banner of the Stars. Definitely has the "risen hero" thing, although the romance is a bit subtle. Go with the sub.

Last Exile All episodes available on Funimation's Youtube channel.

Chrono Crusade

Mirai Nikki

Fate Stay Night I haven't seen it, but I believe it matches what you want.

Blue Exorcist

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has an unlikely hero protecting the world from the whims of a powerful girl. Sub and Dub are equally good.

A Certain Magical Index A young man is up against all the forces of both science and magic, with nothing but the power of his right hand. Sub.

Neon Genesis Evangelion fits well... but you said you don't like giant robots. This is one of the greatest anime of all time, so you might want watch the movie Rebuild 1 which summarizes the first 6 episodes pretty well and see what you think. However I recommend the TV series over continuing with Rebuild, Rebuild 2 was rather lame in my opinion. I prefer sub but dub is okay.

Tenchi Universe and Tenchi Muyo are worth considering. I recommend the dub. They are in many ways the spiritual predecessors (along with Ranma 1/2) of Familiar of Zero.

Chrome Shelled Regios has a bit of an open ending, but you should check it out.

Baka to Test might be something you'd like. (also available on Youtube Funimation.)

Shows like Shiki and Another might also be worth checking out.

Full Metal Panic doesn't really match your request, but I think you'd like it. Both sub and dub are good.

[trickdaddy]

Originally Posted by Echoes

It's great to see that you're passionate about finding more stuff (it really is), but that is a really long post! No worries though, I read it.

I'll try to offer some help, I think I can relate to your situation and taste. First off, as for ZnT, there's really nothing else in terms of anime. Hell, we were lucky that we got the surprisingly good final season earlier this year at all.

The most obvious suggestion (maybe you've watched this already) to anyone who likes ZnT is Shakugan no Shana. The themes are similar, the structure is similar, the look is similar (it's animated by the same studio) and the leading pair are even voiced by the same voice actors! (Kugymiya Rie for Shana/Lousie and Hino Satoshi for Saito/Yuuji.) If you enjoyed the subbed version of ZnT, then that's definitely what you should stick with for Shana as well. Shana has a very similar personality to Lousie, and the series is a fantasy series that takes place in the modern world. Shana is even longer than Znt, with three 24-episode seasons, as well as a short OVA series and a movie, which covers some of the same material as the first season. There's action, comedy, romance and occasional drama; the series has a little bit of everything and is all around a great work.

Well, you hit pretty spot on with SnS!
It's been pretty amazing so far, I've already watched the first two seasons....

However, the third one seems out of it right from the first episode. Hopefully it redeems itself!

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be sure to check out your other ones!