Support NeoGAF

[Bobety]

I don't watch much anime, the only series i ever watched right through were evangelion way back in the day and more recently full metal alchemist. Holy crap I loved full metal alchemist. Now I've gotten used to coming home from work and watching an episode or 2, but i know next to nothing about anime so i dont know what to get next...Thats where you guys come in

I'd prefer something relatively serious..I like a bit of humour but i generally dont find anime humour funny (i watched the 1st 4 episodes of FLCL and absolutely hated it). A fairly longish series would be good too but its not really important.

Anything anywhere near as awesome as full metal alchemist would be great

(Oh and I've seen some cowboy bebop too, which i thought was pretty cool but i just couldnt get into it...mainly because everyone i knew who had seen it kept trying to shove it down my throat and make me watch it because its the best thing ever...that really put me off)

 

[Chrono]

fansubs...

- Monster

licensed but not on DVD yet and still being subbed..

- Gankutsuou
- Naruto
- One Piece
- Eureka 7 <----- good so far but it's pretty early to tell.
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Compex 2nd Gig.


licensed and on DVD...

- Gundam SEED.
- Last Exile.
- Rahxephon.
- Wolf's Rain.
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
- Hajime no Ippo <---- Get this if you can find it on the net, it'll take forever on DVD and it's just too awesome.
- Now and Then, Here and There.
- Fruits Basket.

 

[AniHawk]

Watching Samurai Champloo again, and it's a lot better than I remembered. If you can get a subtitled version, watch that. The English VA is pretty good, but there's no substitute for the original Mugen.

The two episodes of Paranoia Agent have been very interesting so far too.

Both shows are currently on Adult Swim.

 

[Belfast]

ONE PIECE.

Has about the same level of humor as Fullmetal Alchemist (well, maybe a bit more than that, considering it has a lot more space to fill in its over 200 episodes to date than the 52-episode FMA). Still, its very charming and there are some DAMN serious moments throughout the series. I don't know if you'll like it or not, but I don't know how you could hate it, either. I've only know a few people that didn't like it and that's because they hadn't really watched much and were weirded out by some of the early characters. As is usually recommended, though, if you decide to pick it up, watch AT LEAST through the Arlong Arc.

 

[Spiritreaver]

Monster. Monster. Monster. Watch it first, before any other suggestions that are made, just watch it. I'm not going to even suggest anything else, just so you won't get confused. MONSTER.

But yeah, sorry to be slightly pushy, it's an awesome anime, up there with Cowboy Bebop for me actually. It just often gets pushed aside I've noticed.

 

[.hacked]

Don't bother.

If you hated FLCL you have no soul and anime is not for you.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Suggestions.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

TV/OAV series:

Aura Battler Dunbine.(by the creator of Gundam. But better.)

Genesis Climber Mospeada.

Southern Cross.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.

Kimagure Orange Road.

Urusei Yatsura.

Super Dimensional Fortress Macross.

Bubblegum Crisis.(The original. None of that generic '90s' stuff.)

Original Dirty Pair.

Oh My Goddess.

Lupin III(original series and 2nd series. The TV specials are, for the most part, 'worth watching' but not essential)

Megazone 23.

Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water.

Saint Seiya.

City Hunter.

I also really enjoy Detective Conan(Case Closed for you Adult Swim fans) and the new Astro Boy series.

There are dozens and dozens more I could throw out, but there's a few examples for ya.

 

[Gibbo]

Damn man.. After giving up on Rah-Xephon, I'm about to give up on Samurai Champloo after watching episode 7. I really can't stand the lack of continuity between episodes man ( I think coming out fresh from watching TV- Rips of 24 Season 4 has a part to play in this). Should I persevere?

 

[Wraith]

One Piece really is a breath of fresh air. Fewer flashbacks and excellent humor make up for the slightly less spectacular fights(compared to Naruto). There's also much less teenage angst. I started Naruto and One Piece at about the same level - I had betweeen 100 and 125 subbed episodes to watch. I could make up for the frustrating pace of Naruto by chaining it, but once I hit the point of one episode each week I got fed up. One Piece, on the other hand, I'm not having any trouble watching on a weekly basis. If you're looking for a long show then you should probably start at One Piece.

I highly recommend you get an episode of Yakatite!! Japan if you want a quirky anime or something light to fill random anime binges. Not quirky like FLCL(which I also found inaccessible and had no interest in) but... quirky. Outlandish. Hell, it's a show that's ostensibly about baking bread.

Bebop really is a great show. It's one of the few that I find myself watching over and over again. Wait until your current predisposition not to like it due to the extreme hype dies down, then give it another shot without your friends ruining it. I really think this is an anime that anyone can enjoy and will appreciate watching.

Meanwhile, I have to start on Monster. From the first couple of volumes of the manga, this one seems like a winner.

I really can't stand the lack of continuity between episodes man

This doesn't get fixed with a few exceptions. However, watching the whole thing is probably worth it anyway unless you can't get over this. If you have seen Bebop(which is a step or two above Champloo) and could stand it there, then persevere. Otherwise, you should probably bail out.

 

[Riskbreaker]

Is Hunter X Hunter any good?

 

[Pellham]

If you hated FLCL you have no soul and anime is not for you.

lol I want to see Shouta react to that

 

[king zell]

Is Hunter X Hunter any good?

It's very similar to Naruto.. great show

 

[SuperPac]

If you want something more serious, I'd recommend...

Paranoia Agent
Kino's Journey (absolutely one of the best anime shows I've ever seen. It's only 4 discs and you can find it pretty cheaply these days)
Gungrave
Giant Robo (3-disc OVA series, most of the discs are $9.99 at Best Buy)
Gantz (also a good cheap trial on DVD, as the first few discs can be had for under $15)

But honestly, you're not going to find much that's as good/better than Fullmetal, because no such thing exists. Fullmetal is the best show to come out of Japan in years.

- Chris

 

[Shouta]

lol I want to see Shouta react to that

I got a nuke button on my keyboard and I'm not afraid to use it.

 

[Ponn]

I liked Evangelion back in the day, I thought it got a little too crazy at the end for its own good. Escaflowne if you haven't seen it yet is excellent. Another personal one I liked that got over looked was El Hazard. I did not like FLCL, I know I may be in the minority but it just didn't catch me at all. Right now for fansubs i'm watching Naruto, Bleach and Yakitate Japan. I caught a couple episodes of Trinity Blood and it looked interesting. Sort of Trigun meets Hellsing i guess.

 

[Kiriku]

Monster. Monster. Monster. Watch it first, before any other suggestions that are made, just watch it. I'm not going to even suggest anything else, just so you won't get confused. MONSTER.

But yeah, sorry to be slightly pushy, it's an awesome anime, up there with Cowboy Bebop for me actually. It just often gets pushed aside I've noticed.

Listen to this man, Monster is simply awesome! I'd go as far as saying it really is the best anime series ever, or at least definitely...DEFINITELY top 3. It's amazing how consistent the series is, with no episode ever being bad, and most episodes being great or better.

It's very similar to Naruto.. great show

Yeah, and it's also a lot better than Naruto, especially the characters and their development. And the best thing is you don't have to suffer through pointless fillers and drawn-out, uninteresting flashbacks in HxH, just about every episode is great. I also think it has a slightly more serious tone to it than Naruto.

 

[Wraith]

It's very similar to Naruto.. great show

Says the man with the Hisoka avatar... Not that I disagree.

Hunter X Hunter is really a good show, though I think it hits its peak at the end of the TV series, or perhaps at the end of the first OVA. The Greed Island OVAs are OK, but sort of a letdown after watching the sweet sweet action that closes out OVA1. The character development, as mentioned above, is pretty excellent. Worth checking out.

 

[Shig]

Irresponsible Captain Tylor is the bee's knees.

 

[Mugen]

I hate animes. But I recommend Night Shift Nurses.

 

[Koshiba]

Night Shift Nurses being hentai.. Though a good choice if that's what you're looking for..

Probably try watching whatever else they show on TV. The more mainstream popular stuff would probably appeal to you.

As someone else suggested, Hajime no Ippo. It's quite funny but also serious. It's an anime to really get into. Fairly long too.

I also found Boogiepop Phantom to be pretty interesting. Not very long and more of the horror genre I suppose.

Might also be good to check out the Battle Angel OAV. Though of course if you get into that, you'll have to get the manga. But I've found it to be a good watch.

Can't think of what else off the top of my head.. There are of course the longer popular series like Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, etc. You might find those appealing. Speaking of Hunter x Hunter, I do like that series alot. Though I did stop watching Naruto after episode 30-something I believe.

 

[Finaika]

Haibane Renmei
Last Exile
Boogiepop Phantom
Noir
Rahxephon
Giant Robo OVA