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Old 2007-02-13, 17:12   Link #1
Scribble
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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Unhappy I-I-I think I'm Losing Interest in Anime.

Okay, it's not that dramatic. But I'm seriously not watching anime as much as I used to. I don't want to *force* myself to like it again, but I think it's because I've been forcing myself to play this silly "keeping up with the seasons even if it means watching meh anime" game, and I seriously need reminding why I watch anime in the first place.

I want to be WOWED again, like I did when I watched stuff like Princess Tutu, Twin Spica and Now and There, Here and There. Even series like MAJOR S1, One Piece and Mai Hime left a good impression on me.

I don't mind the genre, but I'd like a variety of series to watch. Which series have amazed you, and why? The why bit is particularly important. And remember, I'm talking about series which have literally amazed you.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 2007-02-13, 17:26   Link #2
Theowne
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As for series, I'm not familiar with most of your series except for Now and Then, Here and There. In general, some shows I find interesting are Honey and Clover, Haibane Renmei, Elfen Lied, Mushishi. Not sure how to explain why I reccomend this, but it's mostly because they're shows which take a particular concept and explores it well. Perhaps you may even like something like Death Note, which is sort of a mystery anime between two characters.

How do you feel about anime films? If you want to be wowed, I haven't yet met a person who hasn't been wowed by Ghibli films like Princess Mononoke. If you feel as if anime is becoming repetitive, or you've seen all anime has to offer, well watch this and it'll be as if you just discovered a whole new layer of anime. These are really very far ahead then most of the series you'll see, in terms of emotion, story, impact, etc. Highly recommended. Will shatter your expectations upon watching.
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Old 2007-02-13, 17:29   Link #3
jedinat
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Full Moon wo Sagashite - shoujo at its best
Juuni Kokuki - hooked me from the beginning and never let go
Trigun - never have I come across a more likeable main character
Haibane Renmei - awesome surreal fantasy
Hachimitsu to Clover - gave me the tingles and I found myself watching certain scenes over and over
Mushishi - the only anime ever to consistently leave me feeling awed as the ending song played
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Old 2007-02-13, 17:34   Link #4
SilverHead
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Join Date: Feb 2007
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For series, I would recommend to watch my favorite one. And it's still airing too
This anime is call : School Rumble

The reason why I like it this much is because it makes me dream. I dont really know how to explain it...

Did you ever wonder what it would like to be around the age of 15-17 and have your biggest crush in your school class ? I really like thoses : school romance serie.... and why I like this one particulary is because its a funny one.
One of the best COMEDY Ive seen so far.

A very good smooth love story between a lot of characters and such a cool atmosphere. It makes me dream my old school days when I was around this age.

If you are looking for a serie that will help you get away in some dreams, I would recommend this one.

My number 1 anime and its not for nothing
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Old 2007-02-13, 17:36   Link #5
Scribble
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jedinat View Post
Full Moon wo Sagashite - shoujo at its best
Juuni Kokuki - hooked me from the beginning and never let go
Trigun - never have I come across a more likeable main character
Haibane Renmei - awesome surreal fantasy
Hachimitsu to Clover - gave me the tingles and I found myself watching certain scenes over and over
Mushishi - the only anime ever to consistently leave me feeling awed as the ending song played

Thanks, I've heard many good things about those titles.

I picked up Juuni Kokki a year ago, but I lost the DVDs, so I'll have to start the series from the beginning since I've forgotten most of the plot points.

As for Full Moon Wo Sagashite, I've been wanting to watch it, but I've come across something which I've heard is a HUGE spoiler. Will this harm my enjoyment of the series? I'm talking about:
Spoiler:


Thanks.

Edit:
As for School Rumble, I thought it was good, but the humour wasn't really my thing. Watched until episode 12, but it didn't WOW me. Only one comedy series has ever wowed me, and that's Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu . Thanks anyway.
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Old 2007-02-13, 18:06   Link #6
jedinat
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scribble View Post
As for Full Moon Wo Sagashite, I've been wanting to watch it, but I've come across something which I've heard is a HUGE spoiler. Will this harm my enjoyment of the series? I'm talking about:
Spoiler:
If I had known that it would have been a relief if anything
It shouldn't affect your enjoyment too much I think.
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Old 2007-02-13, 18:17   Link #7
Sazelyt
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I think it will be good for you to watch some animes that can have emotional impact on you, stories that you can feel close to the character (unlike some time-wasting ones that you will forget after you finish it, e.g., Green Green - don't know why this first came to my mind).

In that case, I have always found Hikaru no Go and Hunter X Hunter
to be representative of such powerful stories.

If you want to enter a completely medieval looking world that progresses through strong character relationships and action at the same time, and end with a strong desire to puke at the end (so, it will definitely be a great emotional experience for you that will force you to pick up the manga to get rid of the impression at the end of anime), Berserk is the way to go.

Another good one, from a different genre, is Beck. It is music/band related, character development is definitely above the average level, the story is well founded, and the manga still continues that would allow for at least two more seasons.

If you don't mind racing related stories, Initial D, is a good choice. You will follow the story of a teenager developing into a great racer. The story is good, there are likeable and amusing characters, and enough number of experienced people (characters) in the story to help keep the series close to real world.

Prince of Tennis is another shounen title, but, the topic is good and there are great characters in the story. The quality of the series does not drop, at least until the long-lasting fillers (starting ~ episode 130), hence it will keep you within the story till that time, always in a desire to have more. And even though there are unbelieavable stuff going on in the story, from a real-life tennis experience point of view, you won't get affected negatively a lot after seeing the games in the anime (I guess, another plus for a story, such that it doesn't alienate you from the story).
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Old 2007-02-13, 20:18   Link #8
Scribble
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Theowne View Post
How do you feel about anime films?.

Sorry, I accidentally missed your post! What's kind of funny is that I've seen many anime series, but I've never seen the anime which are considered the "classics", i.e. all the ghibli films. The ones I have seen have been memorable, and I suppose I should give the others a chance. Porco Rosso is my favourite Ghibli film, while oddly enough, I didn't really like Spirited Away that much and Laputa bored me. I've also read Death Note manga until *that* moment, but it didn't really have a lasting impression on me.

And in response to Sazelyt's post:

Thank you for your recommendations. I'm glad a few shounen anime have been recommended. I believed initially that most of the Jump (and similar) titles were just mindless, cliche filled series. That holds true for many of them, but I recently started reading the JoJo manga and it's amazing and I adore One Piece. I hear that Hunter X Hunter is another exception to the rule, and I will give that a try too.
Berserk is a series that I should really get round to seeing.
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Old 2007-02-13, 21:14   Link #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scribble View Post
As for Full Moon Wo Sagashite, I've been wanting to watch it, but I've come across something which I've heard is a HUGE spoiler. Will this harm my enjoyment of the series? I'm talking about:
Spoiler:
Oh yes it will spoil your enjoyment of the series because that basically is the climax of the series. The first season is all about buildup to her searching for Eichi-Kun, and is actually quite episodic, so if you know what happens I think it'll be boring. Besides that twist made the series for a lot of people because it was so well done and quite shocking after all the build up, I remember crying...

Anime that's wowed me recently, well as people have mentioned before, Honey and Clover is a wonderful heart-wrenching series that was beautifully done. It's very realistic and the main character, despite his normality, steals the show. It still haunts me despite the fact that it ended a few months ago.

Gundam SEED - If you like intense drama and can handle mechas, this is a good series to watch. It's about a war between genetically enhanced human beings and regular human beings. The main protagonist is a genetically enhanced human being forced to fight on the opposite side to protect his "natural" friends. The first 20 episodes are fight/fight/fight, but after that it gets really good and the rest of the episodes leave you wanting more and more. The characters are memorable and really get development, and it has a satisfying conclusion. But don't watch the sequel GS Destiny because it's a letdown.

If you liked Tutu, you should def check out Revolutionary Girl Utena. There's a lot of the "fractured fairy-tale feeling" except Utena is a lot more epic and symbolic. It can be confusing and you need to pay attention, but I think this show has the best character development I've seen in a long time. Every character is stripped-down and peeled-away by the end of the show and every character is emotionally screwed up in the head despite appearances. It's a classic shoujo but not for everyone because it really makes you think. But there are dark themes in the story, so if you can't handle lesbianism (wait you watched Mai Hime ) or implied incest then it's probably not for you.

Fruits Basket also holds a special place in my heart. The main character is the typical shoujo girl, the sweet smiling girl who keeps on smiling despite obstacles in life. She meets a cursed family, where each member turns into one of the Chinese zodiac animals if hugged by the opposite sex. It sounds fluffy at first and the main character isn't that interesting, but underneath the humor there's a lot of pain and darkness in the series. The "leader" of the family is sadistic and twisted, and negatively affects most of the members of the family. It's really well-done and emotional.

Monster this is one of the most scariest and addicting animes I've ever watched. It's about a Japanese Doctor who has to choose between saving a rich man's life or a fatally injured child's life in Germany right after the Cold War. Ethically, he chooses to save the child's life because that was the first patient that came in, so he extract's the bullet from his head, only to find out that this child is a chilling murderer who kills without emotion. The Doctor decides to atone for his choice by going after the grown-up child. The anime is 70 plus episodes and can sometimes be episodic but every episode is important and eventually connects together. It's very dark and gritty because this child is not just a sociopath, but he's part of a bigger web of dark communist history. It's a little slow but very interesting.
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Old 2007-02-13, 21:42   Link #10
Duckinator
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Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien! Watch it! =D
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Old 2007-02-13, 21:48   Link #11
Naive
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Glah, you're right KimiNozo did leave an impact, but it left me depressed, angry, and annoyed at Bakayuki.
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Old 2007-02-13, 23:07   Link #12
jedinat
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Naive View Post
Oh yes it will spoil your enjoyment of the series because that basically is the climax of the series. The first season is all about buildup to her searching for Eichi-Kun, and is actually quite episodic, so if you know what happens I think it'll be boring. Besides that twist made the series for a lot of people because it was so well done and quite shocking after all the build up, I remember crying...
Not imho... I was just annoyed whenever Eichi-kun came up. And while it is a major plot point of the series, it is not the climax.
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Old 2007-02-13, 23:25   Link #13
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I think it's the climax of the series, at least in my opinion, because everything she did, all the effort she went through, all the songs she sang, all the hard work and effort was to reach him. Full Moon existed for Eichi-kun up till that point, it was what kept her going. And there's just so much buildup to her going to America that what happens blows everything out of the water. If it's not a climax then, but I really think it is, then I would have to label it as an important turning point of the series, if not the most important.

Later, she does pull herself together but I think that plot point completely changes FMwS from a typical shoujo to something deeper and more serious.
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Old 2007-02-13, 23:38   Link #14
jedinat
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Be that as it may, I believe the anime would still be enjoyable. You obviously enjoyed it, I see no reason why you should dissuade someone from watching it. In my experience it often takes a little exaggeration to get someone to watch something, and in the end they usually don't regret it. (not that I was exaggerating in this case) By extension I see no reason to tell someone a series will be boring just because of a little plot spoiler. (and if you've read the manga that particular revelation was apparent to the reader early in the story, while still unknown to Mitsuki... actually the whole thing was spun as a more psychological issue: denial)
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Old 2007-02-14, 00:06   Link #15
Naive
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jedinat View Post
Be that as it may, I believe the anime would still be enjoyable. You obviously enjoyed it, I see no reason why you should dissuade someone from watching it. In my experience it often takes a little exaggeration to get someone to watch something, and in the end they usually don't regret it. (not that I was exaggerating in this case) By extension I see no reason to tell someone a series will be boring just because of a little plot spoiler. (and if you've read the manga that particular revelation was apparent to the reader early in the story, while still unknown to Mitsuki... actually the whole thing was spun as a more psychological issue: denial)
Well, I saw it as a huge plot spoiler not as a little one, so I think our opinions diverge on that. It is my personal opinion whether something's boring or not, so I was just expressing it. I have my own judgment and I was answering according to what I believe, so I think I'm entitled to not sugarcoat what I feel. Scribbles doesn't have to believe what I say at all, but he asked for people's opinions, and I simply gave mine.

For some people, knowing a huge spoiler does ruin a particular show, and especially for me, I don't think I would have enjoyed FMWS half as much if I had known about the spoiler. There are other great things about the show, I def agree, but the Eichi-kun storyline was such a big part for me and crucial to Mitsuki's development.

So let's just agree to disagree on this issue
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Old 2007-02-14, 00:54   Link #16
Sai the Dreamer
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I'm not sure if you've heard of them yet, but you might give Kyoto Animation's (as of now) epic threesome a try. That is, AIR, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Kanon 2006. Kyoani's known for very heavily inducing the "WOW" factor, and it seems to increase with every series they've produced thus far.

Oh yeah, reasons. Both AIR and Kanon are based on games with a fairly similar story, which is full of subplots regarding all of the main characters. Both are very tragic and touching series, and have caused me to shed a tear multiple times.

TMoHS is simply beautiful, as most people who've seen it can tell you. It's just one of those series everybody should see at some stage, and bares notable resemblance to Evangelion.
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Old 2007-02-14, 01:12   Link #17
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-Fullmetal Alchemist - once you watch the first episode you're sucked in. The plot is flawless and keeps you on the edge of your seat!

-Noein - it was very different from any other anime I've ever watched. The characters are dark and mysterious and the art work is unconventional which makes it all more interesting.

-Death Note (ongoing)- there is not one episode that does not surprise you. IT IS TOTALLY ADDICTIVE! I suggest if you're gonna watch it, wait till it's finished so you can watch it all in a short period; cause I'm following it right now and it's like torture having to wait for a new episode every week!
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Old 2007-02-16, 09:55   Link #18
wao
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Here's one that actually did the job for me and made my interest in anime come rushing back all over again.
(I always seem to reuse the saaaame old recommendations again and again... why? This is the nth time I've recommended this...)

Bakeneko from the show Ayakashi ~Japanese Classical Horror~.
It's licensed now, though the DVDs will take some time to come... Bakeneko is the last 3 eps, and don't worry about watching them on their own because they're completely separate in terms of staff and story from teh rest of the show. It's self-contained.

It's extremely refreshing and packed with creativity and just plain, sheer talent. When I say it is very low on anime cliches, I seriously mean it in all honesty. It stays fresh and tightly-produced throughout due to it only having 3 episodes; basically it's about
Spoiler for hardly a spoiler cos it happens in ep 1, but if you don't want to know even that...:


So in just three episodes we see the masterful execution of the story as information is peeled off in layers until we come to the mindblowingly well-directed and intense finale.

This featured truly great directing pretty much throughout; no scene was wasted and indeed the level of visual detail makes it seem like no space was wasted, either. Needless to say, the animation was excellent even though it may seem that the faces are badly drawn. Take your words back when you see the fight at the end.

You might think 3 eps is way too little to really build up something solid, but I think otherwise. I even feel that the portrayal of characters by careful consideration of their words, actions and designs (as well as the animation)
in these three episodes does what entire 13-episode series simply fail to do...

Anyway, take it from me, this really was an invigorating little gem. I hope you find it someday and get refreshed by it too. I don't think you will ever feel like you're forcing yourself to watch it - unless you hate Japanese-culture sort of stuff.
The one disappointing thing is that you'll be hard-pressed to find many more anime like this.


And to stop sounding like a broken telephone, er... let's see. Watch this somewhat older anime - Infinite Ryvius. It's like Lord of the Flies in space, except I felt it actually succeeded. Very well.
Not phenomenally, but as an anime I still remember genuinely enjoying it all the way and being completely taken up by the stories and characters. It's quite a serious story and can get a bit depressing in some parts, but I felt it did a great job with the synergy among the various characters as well as the space setting. You could really feel the situation getting worse when people had to start living in worse conditions and things like that... if you could like Mai-Hime, I'm sure you could enjoy this too.
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Old 2007-02-16, 20:15   Link #19
Scribble
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Thanks for your replies...


I've seen all of KyoAni's series, and while they would all appear somewhere in my list of top 30 anime, the only one which was memorable to me was Air (believe it or not).

I've also read the Death Note manga, so all the suspense and anticipation is ruined.

In reply to wao's post:

This Bakeneko arc sounds interesting, and if it manages to do all of that in 3 episodes, then...wow (I'm all the more eager to watch it since you said it revived your interest in anime, too). As for Infinite Ryvius, I *did* own the series, and got it because I'm a sucker for "Lord of the Flies" type stories which portray the darker sides of human nature. I...misplaced Infinite Ryvius so I wasn't able to resume watching it.



I think I'll start with Bakeneko. Thanks, guys.
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Old 2007-02-17, 04:25   Link #20
wao
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No problem. What a pity you misplaced the Ryvius DVDs... well, anyway, do go post in the Ayakashi thread once you've watched it, I'm interested to see what you thought about the show.
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