• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Recommend me some anime that an open minded normal person would like

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Dicktatorship

Junior Member
Anime is fucking weird. With that said, I do love NGE and Cowboy Bebop; I just can't find any other good series. I'm looking for stuff that's smart and entertaining without making me cringe unless it's on purpose. I've already seen Death Note and thought it was decent, and I'll get around to seeing Samurai Champloo eventually. While I do appreciate stuff like Studio Ghibli, I'd prefer something more mature.
 
B

Barrylocke

Member
Paranoia Agent maybe? Almost all the strangeness and discomfort that happens in that show is very intentional and an important part of the experience vs. baiting otaku desires.
 
S

Sojgat

Member
18793l.jpg
 
Seraph_Nicholas

Seraph_Nicholas

Member
Trigun was my starter anime, I've always put it right beside Bebop for quality. Steins;gate is surprisingly great. One Punch Man relies heavily on subverting tropes, so your mileage may vary, but I love it.

Of course, there's the classics. Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Perfect Blue. Those are all strange, but definitely intelligent, and movies instead of series so there's less time investment.

Oh, and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is the best anime ever made. It's also the most anime anime ever made. Worth trying, though.
 
G

Geist-

Member
Dicktatorship said:
Anime is fucking weird. With that said, I do love NGE and Cowboy Bebop; I just can't find any other good series. I'm looking for stuff that's smart and entertaining without making me cringe unless it's on purpose. I've already seen Death Note and thought it was decent, and I'll get around to seeing Samurai Champloo eventually. While I do appreciate stuff like Studio Ghibli, I'd prefer something more mature.
Click to expand...
Sounds like we have similar tastes, so I would recommend:

Black Lagoon
Baccano
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

All very mature, great stories.
 
A

Aztechnology

Member
Trigun
Stein's Gate
Black Lagoon
Full metal Alchemist
Psycho Pass
Ghost in Shell: Stand Alone Complex

To start. Anime is pretty great, it's generally anime fans that make it... awkward. You can see this pretty clearly even on GAF anime threads.
 
Y

Yabberwocky

Member
Ghost in the Shell, both the film and the utterly superb Stand Alone Comlpex series. Michiko and Hatchin for beautiful animation and character drama. Kids on the Slope, Space Dandy (godly animation and utterly hysterical) and Terror in Resonance from the Cowboy Bebop/Champloo crew. Baccano! for style and clever writing. Gankusutou - Count of Monte Cristo in space! - is another gorgeous fav from the nineties.
 
M

Mobius 1

Member
Dicktatorship said:
Anime is fucking weird. With that said, I do love NGE and Cowboy Bebop; I just can't find any other good series. I'm looking for stuff that's smart and entertaining without making me cringe unless it's on purpose. I've already seen Death Note and thought it was decent, and I'll get around to seeing Samurai Champloo eventually. While I do appreciate stuff like Studio Ghibli, I'd prefer something more mature.
Click to expand...

Stop what you're doing and go watch that. Now.

Then watch Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
 
V

Verelios

Member
Now and then; Here and There is an absolutely amazing rendition of a morally bankrupt society, that can still have purity.

It's also a short anime, no longer than 12 episodes so you can finish it in a sitting.

Other than that, stop sleeping on Samurai Champloo. Still has one of my favorite pieces of animated choreography ever. Just sublime.
 
S

sonicmj1

Member
Ping Pong
Flowers of Evil / Aku no Hana
Mushishi
The Tatami Galaxy
From the New World / Shin Sekai Yori
Hyouka
Space Battleship Yamato 2199

Some of the best TV series from recent years.
 
Y

Yabberwocky

Member
brickarts295 said:
Okay people sell me on this, I've had it on my watchlist for quite some time now and I have a lot free time right now.
Click to expand...

I haven't watched the anime, but the manga is absolutely godly. Urasawa is an absolute master of intrigue and tension. I keep hoping they'll do anime adaption of his reinterpretation of Astro Boy, 'Pluto'.

sonicmj1 said:
Ping Pong
Flowers of Evil / Aku no Hana
Mushishi
The Tatami Galaxy
From the New World / Shin Sekai Yori
Hyouka
Space Battleship Yamato 2199

Some of the best TV series from recent years.
Click to expand...

Ping Pong, Mushishi, and The Tatami Galaxy are on my Really Need To Watch Already! list.
 
C

ckohler

Member
Check out Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The setting and characters are more European inspired than Japanese, so it might be easier for a non-anime fan to get into.
 
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
Ha ha ha, that's some opening statement. Anyway, I'll recommend some anime that has direct analogues in live action film/TV, that should be easy to approach.

Anne of Green Gables (excellent adaptation of a classic of children's literature)
Emma: A Victorian Romance (period romance of the type you'd see on Masterpiece Theatre)
Flowers of Evil (highly atmospheric character drama, in the style of indie arthouse film)
Gunslinger Girl (don't be deceived; this is the Thin Red Line of anime)
Master Keaton (varied episodic globe-trotting adventure similar to 1980s TV shows such as MacGyver)
Perfect Blue (dark psychological thriller)
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu (intimate period character drama)
Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (classic science fiction in the vein of original Star Trek)
Sword of the Stranger (samurai swordfighting action film)

Those are just a few random titles; if you have anything more particular you're looking for, feel free to let me know and I can make further suggestions.
 
Rudelord

Rudelord

Member
Gundam: Thunderbolt is a recent favorite of mine.

If you don't mind something that has a ton of episodes and alot of philosophy involved, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is timeless.

I would say Knights of Sidonia but eh.
 
R

rpmurphy

Member
Studio Ghibli films you should watch if you haven't already:
Grave of the Fireflies
Only Yesterday
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
 
N

neoanarch

Member
Recommendation threads are the worst cause everyone treats anime like a singular thing. When the reality is anime is a vast medium. Give me a genre OP. Do you like drama, comedy, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, horror, sports, musicals, parody, avant garde, or movies or TV shows. Long running series or short thight series.
 
G

Geist-

Member
Oh, I almost forgot, you should check out Darker than Black. It's basically if super heroes became emotionless sociopaths after they gained their powers.

1362683250manga-darker-than-black.jpg
 
B

blurr

Member
rpmurphy said:
Studio Ghibli films you should watch if you haven't already:
Grave of the Fireflies
Only Yesterday
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Click to expand...

These are great films.

I'd also suggest some Satoshi Kon's works:
Millennium Actress
Paprika
Perfect Blue
Tokyo Godfathers
 
C

cirrhosis

Member
Verelios said:
Now and then; Here and There is an absolutely amazing rendition of a morally bankrupt society, that can still have purity.

It's also a short anime, no longer than 12 episodes so you can finish it in a sitting.

Other than that, stop sleeping on Samurai Champloo. Still has one of my favorite pieces of animated choreography ever. Just sublime.
Click to expand...

This is a great suggestion, but be forewarned - it's serious stuff. I went through it in 2 episode bursts over a couple of days. I'd be a wreck if I watched it all in one go.
 
V

Vilix

Unconfirmed Member
The Devil Is A Part Timer. It's short, sweet, and funny.
 
E

Einhander

Member
Watch Noein, Samurai 7, and Gankutsuou. All excellent series. Noein, in particular, has wonderfully-drawn action scenes.

Noein

Fifteen years in the future, by high-level scientific power, a violent battle takes place between Lacrima, that protects humanity, and Shangri-La, that plans the annihilation of all space-time. The key to stopping Shangri-La's invasion is a mysterious object known as "the Dragon's Torque." A group known as the Dragon Cavalry is being sent through space and time to find it. In the present, twelve-year old Haruka and her friend Yuu are contemplating running away from home when they meet a member of the Dragon Cavalry named Karasu (Crow). He believes that Haruka has the Dragon's Torque and claims to be Yuu from fifteen years in the future.
Click to expand...

Samurai 7

A small village is being persecuted by robbers who return every harvest to seize the village's crops. Faced with starvation, the villagers send out a mission to find and recruit some samurai to defend them. With no pay to offer except rice, and knowing full well that only down-on-their-luck samurai would even consider accepting such an deal, the villagers can only hope that their saviours will appear before the rice is ready for harvest.
Click to expand...

Gankutsuou

Trying to escape his uneventful life, Albert, the son of a renowned general from Paris, makes a journey with his friend Franz. During his travels, he meets an immensely wealthy nobleman named The Count of Monte Cristo. Living in luxurious hotels, surrounded by beautiful women and strong bodyguards, the charming but enigmatic count fascinates Albert. Albert invites the count to join the high society of Paris. However, unknown to Albert, his father had once framed the count and took the Count's fiancee as his own.
Click to expand...
 
D

Dicktatorship

Junior Member
Seraph_Nicholas said:
Trigun was my starter anime, I've always put it right beside Bebop for quality. Steins;gate is surprisingly great. One Punch Man relies heavily on subverting tropes, so your mileage may vary, but I love it.

Of course, there's the classics. Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Perfect Blue. Those are all strange, but definitely intelligent, and movies instead of series so there's less time investment.

Oh, and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is the best anime ever made. It's also the most anime anime ever made. Worth trying, though.
Click to expand...

Ghost in the Shell was interesting but didn't really light my fire. I did LOVE Perfect Blue.

I should also put out there that End of Evangellion is my favorite animated thing and one of my favorite things (ever) across the board.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Animation Appreciation - Feature Lengths Only
Social Opinion Community 2
60
5K
CGNoire replied
Ridley Scott interview - sharks in the colosseum, Maximus returning from the afterlife to kill Jesus Christ, asleep at the wheel for Prometheus
45
3K
dem replied
Bloomberg: Microsoft Buying Nintendo Would Have Been a Disaster
Analysis Hardware Platform 2 3
131
11K
Unknown? replied
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | Review Thread
Analysis Review Hype 2 3 4
156
14K
GateofD replied
Black Myth Wukong Previews are coming up
Community Hype 2
62
6K
GHG replied
Top Bottom