Suggestions for an Anime Beginner

[cmoreclams]

I'm still relatively new to Anime and I'm having some real trouble finding something new to watch. I started with Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo and loved them, but I'd like to find something with more plot, and maybe a little bit of romance. I've also seen Black Lagoon, which might be my favorite anime so far, but again there wasn't to much long term plot. After that I watched Fullmetal Panic but wasn't to crazy about it because the story was somewhat pointless, there was to much mecha, and it seems like it was written for a younger audience.


So basically I'm looking for a funny Action-Romance that is somewhat mature and well written, with as little mecha as possible and a good dub is a must.

I appreciate any help

[NinjaRealist]

Originally Posted by cmoreclams

So basically I'm looking for a funny Action-Romance that is somewhat mature and well written, with as little mecha as possible and a good dub is a must.

I appreciate any help

(Warning: there aren't very many anime that compare favorably to Cowboy Bebop)

I'll give my stock answers with the caveat that I usually watch the dub. If you want something recent:

One that you will definitely like is FMA: Brotherhood(this has a good dub). If you don't like this one, give up on anime.

Some other good new ones are Fate/Zero , D. Gray-Man (this one has a good dub) .

If you don't mind something older, check out Trigun, Berserk or Noir. These are all classics and they all have decent dubs.

(Berserk and Fate/Zero are both disgustingly violent. You've been warned.)

Finally, you said you liked Full Metal Panic, be aware that the sequel (The Second Raid not Fumoffu) is much, MUCH, better.

P.S. If you are a beginner Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This may seem either boring or too feminine but it is widely considered to be one of the most important and most universally accessible shows of the last decade.

Just try to get past the first few boring episodes.

[SeijiSensei]

I'll suggest an offbeat show that might be what you're looking for -- Oh! Edo Rocket. It's set in the 1840's during the time of the Tenpou Reforms when entertainment, Western learning, and many other things were banned by the Shogunate. Those rules have made it illegal for Tamaya Seikichi to pursue his chosen profession of fireworks-maker.. He still engages in the occasional guerrilla launch, but he redoubles his efforts when a beautiful, but eccentric young woman asks Seikichi to make her a rocket that will reach the moon.

Lots of comedy, a plot with serious political overtones about repression and military power, lovable if weird characters, and a solid dub that has been highly "localized" to deal with the show's emphasis on Japanese historical events and culture. Just a warning though that the character models are very stylized:

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Best of all you can watch the dub online if you live in a country served by Hulu at http://www.hulu.com/oh-edo-rocket. You can give the show a try for the price of watching a couple of commercials.

Another show that meets many of your criteria, except the one for length, is Baccano!, a series set in Prohibition America. American actors performing a dub makes sense for this show, and people who like dubs say this is one of the best. It has a somewhat slow and confusing opening episode, but it rewards patience. It does have graphic violence if that matters to you. Again you can watch the dub at Hulu.

For a change of pace, I recommend Nodame Cantabile, whose dub is running over on Crackle. It's a romantic comedy about a supercilious guy who wants to become an orchestra conductor and a ditzy gal who has extraordinary talents as a pianist. Nodame begins in a Tokyo college-level music academy and ends up in Paris during the sequels. I've listened to the first dubbed episode and thought it was decent, though I'm always annoyed when the studio doesn't bother to translate signs and other on-screen text. Here's the opening minute which sets the context better than the untranslated dub.

Finally, if you're up for a long, detailed, mature story you should really give Monster a try. Not much humor in this one, nor a lot of romance, but it certainly scores highly in the maturity and writing departments. Here's the problem. VIZ only ever released the first fifteen dubbed episodes on DVD. However they have dubbed the entire show; it was carried by SyFy a few years back. VIZ used to stream the dub online as I recall, but now only the subtitled version is available. (That might have something to do with VIZ's moving its dubs to its new service for PS3 owners, Neon Alley, though Monster does not fit with what they are offering so far.) So you're left watching it via illegal streams if you want to see a complete dubbed version. I didn't have much trouble finding them.

You should also browse this thread: http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=115028

[Kirito]

I don't know if you've seen these but why don't you give Darker than Black and Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom a shot if you're interested. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for with those two.

[Mangakasan]

Give soul eater a shot.

[NinjaRealist]

Originally Posted by Mangakasan

Give soul eater a shot.

This one has an extremely good dub, which is apparently important to you.

[Midnight2352]

Give these a shot:

romance/comedy/mecha/action

Dragonaut the Resonance
Guilty Crown
Vision of Escaflowne

romance/comedy/action

Zero no Tsukaima (has echhi)
Rosario and Vampire (has echhi)
Shakugan no Shana
Kaze No Stigma
Inu x Boku SS
Hayate No Gotoku


Hope you enjoy them!!