Anime 101

[Koyaanisqatsi]

My fiancee has decided to embrace her inner geek lately and has started to get interested in anime and manga. Unfortunately, she really knows nothing about it...and neither do I. I know several people around here are into it...does anybody have any suggestions for 'introduction to anime'-type series or movies that might make good Christmas presents? I suspect she'd lean more toward the fantasy side than the sci-fi...

[:) Smiley]

Hmm, we haven't had any Anime Apolyton threads for a while.

A good place to search for series is www.animenfo.com

[Vince278]

Alot of the anime I've seen looks like borderline porn.

[RGBVideo]

That's one of the major negative aspects of using google -- if there's a fetish (no matter how bizarre) somehow involved with the thing you're searching for, the kinky stuff ALWAYS comes up first, being more popular.

[Theben]

Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away is very good.

Record of the Lodoss War is fantasy in the elves/dwarves/orcs sense of fantasy. It's okay, not great, but some people like it.

[Bkeela]

I would recommend hiring some anime dvds first, and then if you like it, buy. I just can't stomach the obscure plots and poor animation myself.

[Theben]

hiring?

[Bkeela]

Yeah. Don't you have Video Easy or other such stores where you live?

I think it's a mistake just buying anime and hoping you like it.

[Kassiopeia]

I think it's a mistake just buying anime and hoping you like it.

I couldn't agree more - until you've seen a handful of stuff and can try the "they like what I like and they like X, so I'll probably like X myself" approach, you shouldn't invest in anything. Some rent, some make a habit out of anime clubs, some just download and watch. My introduction to anime was when watching at a friend's place.

Miyazaki should be a pretty good bet for a Christmas present, though.

[loinburger]

If you're interested in finding out just how much she loves you, try getting Ping Pong Club.

[Wraith]

I had a whole huge response typed out, and then it got eaten.

For now, let me make some suggestions, and I'll try to get back later and post more extensively.

You mention fantasy, so I'll start there. Pretty much anything from Studio Ghibli would work, but I'd suggest starting with Kiki's Delivery Service.
For Christmas, another possibility would be Tokyo Godfathers.

Some other titles:
Escaflowne
Fruits Basket
Millenium Actress
Twelve Kingdoms
Spirited Away
Haibane Renmei (my personal favorite show

--"Hmm, we haven't had any Anime Apolyton threads for a while. "

There wasn't much response in them, really. If there's interest, I can try starting them up again at a reduced rate. They tend to take a lot of effort to put together.

--"hiring?"

Translate as "renting" ^_^
I can't figure out what "obscure plots" is supposed to mean, though. And animation quality varies from very good (ie. Miyazaki) to rather poor (Violinist of Hamelin is almost a slide show).

Wraith
"You know the times you can see the dust in your eyes? I'm chasing it right now."
-- Osaka ("Azumanga Daioh")

[DinoDoc]

The only anime I've seen is what they play on Cartoon Network but I like Case Closed, Lupin III, Rurouni Kenshin, & Inuyasha.

The Big O was cool too but is probably a little wierd for most.

[loinburger]

Originally posted by Wraith
Fruits Basket

What's that one about?

[ixnay]

Originally posted by loinburger

What's that one about?

Girl happens upon family that is cursed - whenever a cursed member of that family is hugged by someone of the opposite gender, they transform into an animal from the chinese zodiac. That's pretty much the basis for the whole thing.

My fiancee and I are currently going through it and it's pretty good. I'm enjoying it.

[Wraith]

Okay, now I'll explain the choices a bit. I'll note first that anime is a medium, not a genre. If you give some examples of Amercian movies and series she does like (and doesn't like), that would help.

Kiki's Delivery Service is about a young apprentice witch. As part of her training, she has to leave home and live by herself for a year. This is a straightforward coming-of-age story. IIRC, it's based on a French story (Miyazaki's latest, Howl's Moving Castle, is based on a British story).

Tokyo Godfathers is about three homeless people living in Japan who find an abandonded baby on Christmas Eve. They decide to take care of her and then try to find her parents to return her. This one is a big string of coincidences happening one after the other. It was done that way on purpose, and I think Satoshi Kon did a good job with it, but it puts some people off.

Escaflowne is about a high school girl who gets swept into another world after a dragon and a boy in armor appear in the middle of the track field. On this new world, Gaea, Hitomi's fortune-telling hobby becomes something more, and the boy turns out to be king of a small kingdom. The villian in this one is rather eccentric, but it's a good show.

Fruits Basket is about recently orphaned high school girl Tohru Honda. Through circumstances, she's ended up living in a tent. More things happen, and she gets taken in by part of the Sohma family as kind of a live-in maid; cleaning and cooking in return for room and board. But the Sohma family has a secret; they're cursed by the spirits of the Chinese Zodiac. When hugged by someone of the opposite sex, some of them turn into their zodiac animal. This is a combination comedy and drama, and handles both very well.

Millenium Actress isn't quite a fantasy, per-se. It's the story of a famous Japanese actress, who disappeared suddenly from the screen some years prior. It's told in Satoshi Kon's trademark reality/fantasy warping fashion.

Twelve Kingdoms probably isn't quite what you want for a present. It's ten discs in total, although they haven't all been released here yet. Still, it's a great fantasy story. It's another high-school girl in a strange world story, only this one is very much based on Confucianism. She's taken there after a strange man shows up at school one day and swears fealty to her, before helping her escape some fantasy monsters that show up. This is mostly a character drama, although the setting is epic fantasy. I will warn that the main character starts out insecure and whiny, but she developes very well over the course of the series.

Spirited Away is another Miyazaki movie. In this one the main character, a little girl, is caught up in a fairy tale world; a bath house where the various spirits come to relax. This one is steeped in Japanese fairytales, so you probably won't recognize most of the monsters and spirits, but it's a good coming of age story.

Haibane Renmei is described pretty well by the link I gave. I will warn you that the first half is pretty much in the shomingeki style. There's no real western equivalent to this genre, but think slice of life. It's just normal people doing normal things. If she doesn't have the patience to watch a pure character drama, you might not want to try this.

Now, a couple quick responses.

Porn. Of course. Sex always sells, so that's the stuff that got brought over first, and in a fair number.

Obscure plots? Most anime plots are quite straightforward, like the Kiki's plot above. There are shows with much more convoluted plots (Paranoia Agent, Serial Experiments: Lain, etc), but there are similar shows in the US, like Twin Peaks or the X-Files. It's just a matter of selection.

As far as animation quality goes, of course it varies. Some productions will have more money than others, and more money generally gives you better results. Animation quality can range from the excellent, such as Miyazaki's famous for, to the very poor, such as in Violinist of Hamelin, which is nearly a slide show most of the time.

I probably wouldn't go with Record of the Lodoss War. I like it, but unless she's a big AD&D player, I wouldn't guarantee anything.

Wraith
"Baka."
-- Ruri ("Nadesico")

[:) Smiley]

I'd starts with Miyazaki's films, they are regarded as some of the best.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Originally posted by Wraith
Okay, now I'll explain the choices a bit. I'll note first that anime is a medium, not a genre. If you give some examples of Amercian movies and series she does like (and doesn't like), that would help.

Yeah, I know. I think it's more that she likes the idea that she likes anime than she actually likes anime at this point...like I said, she doesn't really know that much about it. I think the only things she's actually seen are Princess Mononoke (which she liked, but had a little trouble with because she didn't know much about the mythos involved), a few episodes of YuGiOh (which she thinks has an interesting backstory, but finds the show itself to be insipid...she's been trying to get some of the non-Americanized versions of it floating around, though I don't know how much that will help in this case), and some random late-night cartoon network shows that have mostly been confusing since we never see more than an episode or two in a row. Like I said, not much, but enough that she's interested in the storytelling.

I suspect what she'd really like is something along the lines of Disney's Gargoyles, which has a very deep mythological world that's revealed as you go through the series. I thinks she's hoping that anime will have that sort of storytelling, only without the dumbing-down apparently required for most American cartoons.

Kiki's Delivery Service is about a young apprentice witch. As part of her training, she has to leave home and live by herself for a year. This is a straightforward coming-of-age story. IIRC, it's based on a French story (Miyazaki's latest, Howl's Moving Castle, is based on a British story).

Tokyo Godfathers is about three homeless people living in Japan who find an abandonded baby on Christmas Eve. They decide to take care of her and then try to find her parents to return her. This one is a big string of coincidences happening one after the other. It was done that way on purpose, and I think Satoshi Kon did a good job with it, but it puts some people off.

I'd guess no on these.

Escaflowne is about a high school girl who gets swept into another world after a dragon and a boy in armor appear in the middle of the track field. On this new world, Gaea, Hitomi's fortune-telling hobby becomes something more, and the boy turns out to be king of a small kingdom. The villian in this one is rather eccentric, but it's a good show.

I think this sort of thing is close.

Fruits Basket is about recently orphaned high school girl Tohru Honda. Through circumstances, she's ended up living in a tent. More things happen, and she gets taken in by part of the Sohma family as kind of a live-in maid; cleaning and cooking in return for room and board. But the Sohma family has a secret; they're cursed by the spirits of the Chinese Zodiac. When hugged by someone of the opposite sex, some of them turn into their zodiac animal. This is a combination comedy and drama, and handles both very well.

Millenium Actress isn't quite a fantasy, per-se. It's the story of a famous Japanese actress, who disappeared suddenly from the screen some years prior. It's told in Satoshi Kon's trademark reality/fantasy warping fashion.

I'm guessing these wouldn't be what she wants, based on those descriptions.

Twelve Kingdoms probably isn't quite what you want for a present. It's ten discs in total, although they haven't all been released here yet. Still, it's a great fantasy story. It's another high-school girl in a strange world story, only this one is very much based on Confucianism. She's taken there after a strange man shows up at school one day and swears fealty to her, before helping her escape some fantasy monsters that show up. This is mostly a character drama, although the setting is epic fantasy. I will warn that the main character starts out insecure and whiny, but she developes very well over the course of the series.

This is a possibility.

Spirited Away is another Miyazaki movie. In this one the main character, a little girl, is caught up in a fairy tale world; a bath house where the various spirits come to relax. This one is steeped in Japanese fairytales, so you probably won't recognize most of the monsters and spirits, but it's a good coming of age story.

Might be good, but if it's assumed that the viewer knows the fairytales and they're never really told in the movie, it probably wouldn't be what she wants.

Haibane Renmei is described pretty well by the link I gave. I will warn you that the first half is pretty much in the shomingeki style. There's no real western equivalent to this genre, but think slice of life. It's just normal people doing normal things. If she doesn't have the patience to watch a pure character drama, you might not want to try this.

Probably not what she's looking for.

I probably wouldn't go with Record of the Lodoss War. I like it, but unless she's a big AD&D player, I wouldn't guarantee anything.

She is.......

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Hm. Looking at the post, it looks like I said no on most of those...I was afraid that might happen. Like I said, neither of us really know anything...I think it's entirely possible she'd like some of that stuff, I'm just not sure mostly because she doesn't know nearly as much eastern mythology as western. I think she'd find something based on western stories (or more universal concepts) more accessible, to start with, at least.

Also, she'd probably trend more toward fantasy, but I think she'd like more sci-fi type stuff if there was a deep enough world behind it.

[DanS]

Of that list, I don't think you can go wrong with Escaflowne and Twelve Kingdoms (after ~ episode 9 it is one of the best animes that I have seen). Twelve Kingdoms has a more sophisticated story, but I very much liked both.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Ok...I'll look at those more.

[DanS]

Regarding Escaflowne, make sure you get the series (Vision of Escaflowne) rather than the movie. Or you could get the box set, which includes both. Not the cheapest gift, though.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...9&loc=322&sp=1

[chequita guevara]

The Slayers is humorous fantasy.

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Smiley
Hmm, we haven't had any Anime Apolyton threads for a while.

How about the Ghost in the Shell
thread ?

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Wraith
--"Hmm, we haven't had any Anime Apolyton threads for a while. "

There wasn't much response in them, really. If there's interest, I can try starting them up again at a reduced rate. They tend to take a lot of effort to put together.

Really, what is there to say when there's one sensai and so many students? Mainly we just learn a lot.

I am so totally stoked about moving to Miami. There's an Anime club!!!!

Spirited Away dvd: $20
Dvd player to play it on: $100
Moving away from a city where you can't buy anime: priceless.

[Wraith]

--"I suspect what she'd really like is something along the lines of Disney's Gargoyles, which has a very deep mythological world that's revealed as you go through the series"

In that case, Twelve Kingdoms is probably your best bet in the fantasy genre, although I wouldn't count out Haibane Renmei on that point. Escaflowne is also this way, although it's not as deep a world as Twelve Kingdoms.

--"Might be good, but if it's assumed that the viewer knows the fairytales and they're never really told in the movie, it probably wouldn't be what she wants."

Yes, it's assumed, not explain. Some of it is easily recognizable, but some of it (like the hopping lamp and No-Face) will not be.

--"She is......."

Hmm. In that case, she might. However, it's a very typical fantasy world setting. It's not particularly deep or anything. If you do decide to try this, stick with the OVA and not the TV series. The latter includes Chronicles of the Heroic Knight in the title. It's not as good a series as the OVA (which is also shorter).

--" I think she'd find something based on western stories (or more universal concepts) more accessible"

I was hesitant about recommending this before, but in that case you might want to check out Berserk. It's a swords and sorcery style story set in an old European land. There is a lot of graphic violence in this one, though. The main character, Guts, is a mercenary, and most of the action involves a mercenary band. Unless she's got a high tolerance for blood (and nudity, which isn't hugely typical but is relatively common in the series) you should pass.

--" but I think she'd like more sci-fi type stuff if there was a deep enough world behind it."

Crest of the Stars, which is followed by Banner and Banner 2, then. First warning, though, is that you should only even consider this if you're willing to watch it subtitled. It features one of the flat-out worst dubs of the decade. There's mistakes even in the subtitles, but it's not completely horrific like the dub.
This is a huge, epic, rich world setting. It, like Twelve Kingdoms, is based on a series of novels. The author went out of his way to create a believeable and deep setting, including creating the Abh language.
Basic set up is that this is in the far future. We've discovered a way to essentially move faster than light, by going through another dimension called "Plane Space". As the name implies, there's only two dimensions of space, and one dimension of time. Of course, there's galaxy-spanning empires, chief of which is Abh Empire. They're genetically modified to handle space, and their chief concern is interplanetary travel. They rarely care about what happens on the surface of worlds in their empire, but monopolize the space routes.
At the start of the series, planet Martine is discovered by the Abh. Knowing they have no chance against the Abh forces, the president of the planet surrenders. However, he is able to negotiate a bit; he gets to remain in power as the planet's ruler. He's also granted nobility in the Abh empire, and is immediately taken to the capital for the ceremony. His son, Jinto (one of the two main characters), is sent off-planet to a school. There he learns about the Abh, but doesn't get to meet one until much, much later (when the series starts, basically). He's picked up by a Star Forces ship to be transported to the capital, where he will join the Star Forces for a while - something all Abh are pretty much required to do for at least some time. Only his journey is interrupted when one of the other four empires launches an attack...
So there's a huge, detailed world behind it. It's really Space Opera in scope there, but most of the story follows Jinto and Lafiel (a pilot-trainee in the Star Forces), with enough of the background happenings shown to keep up with the main story in the universe. ADV is apparently going to translate the books these were based on, which I'm very much looking forward to.

--"I am so totally stoked about moving to Miami. There's an Anime club!"

Yes, anime clubs are good ^_^

Wraith
"You shall call me Lafiel!"
-- Lafiel ("Crest of the Stars")

[Jon Miller]

the stuff by the guy who made spirited away is always good

generally I have been more impressed by the sci-fi or mystical (Think Xfiles or Fairytails) anime rather than the fantasy

Lodoss war was sort of fun, not the best animation though (and would not be good for non DnD fans)

there are some huge fantasy series, like Inuyasha, but I think they have the issue of being young adult also

Jon Miller

[Japher]

Anime sux

Hintai doesn't though...

just had to say that as I do almost everytime I see an anime thread



as you were

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Bkeela
Yeah. Don't you have Video Easy or other such stores where you live?

I think it's a mistake just buying anime and hoping you like it.

I think you meant "renting?"

[Nostromo]

What's the difference between manga, anime and hentai? Manga's are the comic books, right? And anime, the animated movies/tv programmes? But what the hell is hentai?

[Gamecube64]

Hentai is animated porn. If I am correct it means pervert in japanese, though I am not sure.