Anime Apolyton

[Bkeela]

I went to see Steamboy in the cinema last year, and I absolutely hated it! I didn't like the Victorian, industrial setting, I felt no empathy for the irritating characters, the artwork was nothing special. Blech. I found myself looking at my watch, bored, yearning for the end to come. Then I came to my senses and just left.

I love the style of japanese comics and animation, but the stories just bore the crap out of me. Unfortunately I can't afford to experiment with new stuff much.

[Wraith]

--"Is Lupin the Third any good?"

Well, yes and no. It's been a long-running franchise, and a lot of different people have worked on it, so it varies. I haven't seen too much of it, but Miyazaki did one Lupin movie, Castle of Cagliostro. Nothing deep, but it's a fun little action movie.

--"I hope you don't have to be so into that culture to understand and appreciate anime. "

Of course you don't. That's why there are companies that bring it over, translate it, and dub into english.

Anyway, if you tell me what kind of shows and movies you like and don't like, I can offer some recommendations.

--"Any suggestions?"

Well, the obvious would be the rest of Miyazaki's movies, and if you like Millenium Actress then the rest of Satoshi Kon's works would be good as well.
Since you like Ghost in the Shell, another likely bet is Serial Experiments Lain, which deals with a similar question. However, it doesn't involve the action sequences, so if that's what you like about GitS it might not be for you.

The GitS movies were done by Mamoru Oshii, IIRC, so his other works could be good. That includes the Patlabor movies and Jin-Roh.

Anyway, more info on your likes and dislikes, outside of anime as well, is always helpful for forming recommendations.

--"I love the style of japanese comics and animation, but the stories just bore the crap out of me."

Sounds like you haven't found any of the good ones. I haven't even bothered to see Steamboy, based on the reviews I've read of it.
If you like action stuff, like X-Men and James Bond, give Read or Die a try. It's a short, three episode OVA series (you can get it all on one DVD) with great animation, a fun story, and good action (including a martial arts battle between two people who can phase through matter).

Wraith
"My book!"
-- Yomiko ("Read or Die")

[Seeker]

Did you say that there are still new eps of 'Berzerk' coming out? When will they reach our benighted shores?

And what is it with Japanese and Giant Phallic-Prop Swords?

Have you ever noticed that someone armed with a sword alrways beats someone armed with anything else?

I must confess....I have seen Otaku no Video....at an anime club, even worse. But, thankgod, there were people there even worse than me. I met these three who basically had this sort of 'rocky horror picture show' thing going on, except with Excel. You know, everyone shouts at the screen, costumes, etc. At one point I was like, 'sorry, this is becoming so geeky that I, even I, am reaching my limit'.

[Tattila the Hun]

I've been looking to get the live-action version of Jin-Roh...


(Getting, meaning downloading it from somewhere... Well it's not like I can just walk into the nearest DVD-rental and rent it...)



STG-44

[DaShi]

I don't recommend any Miyazaki movie with 'castle' in the title.

[loinburger]

Originally posted by Wraith
I thought Chrono Crusade was okay, but Fushigi Yuugi is one of the ones I really can't stand. I managed to watch the entire series, but not without a lot of effort. I think they could have done a good series with it, but it should have been about half as long. Cut out all the flashbacks and you'd be most of the way there... Unfortunately, most of the characters are way too annoying to make it enjoyable, even without the melodrama-to-slapstick jolts.

I started making frequent use of the fast-forward button around the middle of disc 2, and the resulting absence of flashbacks really seemed to help out the series.

[Mao]

Originally posted by DaShi
One Piece reminds me a lot of Dragon Ball Z. I like DBZ better.

I've to try to find that little anime shop in Hangzhou. They had everything, albiet with awful subtitles. Unfortunately, the whole complex was torn down over 6 months ago. Across the street they built a new computer market, but for large firms and brand names only.

Wait a minute...you're in Hangzhou? I'm in Hangzhou too! haha, I'm studying for a semester at ZheDa

[DaShi]

Really? Studying Chinese? Which campus?

Actually, I'll be returning tomorrow, where I'll be working at the No. 1 hospital of Zheda.

[Wraith]

--"I liked Fruits Basket but my wife is nuts about it."

Let her know she can pre-order a 2006 Fruits Basket calendar ^_^

--"Did you say that there are still new eps of 'Berzerk' coming out?"

The manga is still ongoing. There's frequently rumors of another season of Berserk, but so far none of them have panned out. I wouldn't expect it to happen, but it would be nice.

--"I've been looking to get the live-action version of Jin-Roh..."

That reminds me, I have the two live-action movies Oshii did in the Jin-Roh universe. I need to watch those some time. You can get them in a set, along with another of his live-action films, but I don't think they've been sold seperately in the US.

--"I started making frequent use of the fast-forward button around the middle of disc 2, and the resulting absence of flashbacks really seemed to help out the series."

Heh. I be it did. ^_^ I still found the main character to be annoying and whiney, though.

Wraith
"Man fears the darkness, and so he scrapes away at the edges of it with fire."
-- Rei Ayanami ("Neon Genesis Evangelion")

[loinburger]

Originally posted by Wraith
Heh. I be it did. ^_^ I still found the main character to be annoying and whiney, though.

I don't mind Miaka all that much (So she likes food, I get it already!), but Chichiri really grates on me.

Speaking of annoying characters, I started (and failed to finish) Saiyuki a few months ago. That was the first time I've found an anime where the dub was easier on the ears than the sub -- Goku's voice was simply awful.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Hm. I'm still working off this thread.

Let's see...as was mentioned there, we both really liked Escaflowne. Twelve Kingdoms was also excellent, though the constant recaps were annoying (as was the unfinished nature of the series...) We weren't impressed with Record of Lodoss War, got several episodes in and couldn't find a consistant plot, so we gave up on it.

Currently halfway through Berserk...good so far, though there seems to be entirely too many Significant Looks Between Characters. Yes, we know already. And it would be nice if it seemed like they were up against opposition that was even a little bit competent or a threat...

[bipolarbear]

Originally posted by monolith94
Howl's Moving Castle was excellent - I saw it twice in theaters.

and to a greater extent Miyazaki is excellent. As far as his 'castle related titles go, HMC was far better than Castle in the Sky.

[Wraith]

--"I started (and failed to finish) Saiyuki a few months ago"

Ah, that's another one I haven't bothered to see. I heard it wasn't that good, so I guess I heard right.

--"Hm. I'm still working off this thread."

Heh. Forgot about that one. It was a bit ago, wasn't it?

--"Twelve Kingdoms was also excellent, though the constant recaps were annoying (as was the unfinished nature of the series...) "

Well, the novels are still coming out in Japan. There's a possibility of more episodes, but I don't know how likely it is.
The recaps weren't that frequent, just one at the end of each story arc. They were set up to be pretty easy to skip. I've seen shows that have four recap episodes in a row (and less episodes than Twelve Kingdoms), so maybe that influences my opinion.

--"We weren't impressed with Record of Lodoss War"

It's not for everyone. I enjoy it mostly because of how much it resembles AD&D session, and I used to play that quite a bit.

--"though there seems to be entirely too many Significant Looks Between Characters."

Mostly an artifact of their shoestring animation budget, I suspect. They glare a fair bit in the manga, but the significant looks aren't overwhelming.
As for the opposition, I'm not sure when it happens, but they two run into a couple major obstacles along the way. If you do enjoy the show, check out the manga. The opposition is rather more... significant, shall we say, in the story arcs that haven't been animated. The Band of the Hawk story arc is necessary for understanding the characters, but there are much more major conflicts in the story.

If you're still looking for sci-fi titles, you might want to consider Bubblegum Crisis (not Crash or 2040). Or Figure 17. On the lighter side of things, there was a rerelease of Irresponsible Captain Tylor recently. The TV series was pretty funny (the OVAs are skippable).

Wraith
"Anchor, anchor... We need an anchor... Say Zel how much do you weigh?"
-- Lina Inverse ("Slayers Next")

[self biased]

good to see you wraith. we'll have to catch up next time i'm in town.

[Nostromo]

I watched Akira last night. Pretty good! I hear its a classic. I also watched Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (vol.6) recently. Great stuff, as always. I'll receive vol.7 shortly and that'll be the end of season one. I hope other seasons are coming on DVD. I just received Spirited Away and I'll watch it soon.