We haven't had a thread about anime in a long time, so uh, here. I tried to find the last one but it was about winter 2011 series and it was like 6 pages back so.

Anyone watching anime?

I just turned on Gravitation because a few episodes are on my harddrive for unknown reasons and I remembered that actually, I kind of like these weird Japanese cah-toons! I also have another series I know nothing about called Puella Magi (or that's what the folder is called anyway) that I'll probably watch next. I also heard Monster is on Netflix (confirm/deny?) and I would love to rewatch that.

Aaaaaaaand now I'm halfway through the episode and remembering how terrible anime can be also. Is there a place people trust to try to find anime that is "good"? There's just so much out there, it's overwhelming to know where to start, especially when you've been absent from the anime world for a decade or so.

ugh Gravitation is just UGH. Sometimes I sit through what I think is bad anime (1-5 episodes) and it turns out pretty good, like Soul Eater. You should check out Summer Wars, its beautifully animated and combines the old and young generation in the story of how they accomplish tasks and such.

Also, I'm sure there are some EVA fans out there but the redone series is sooo much more enjoyable to watch now that everything is a bit more clear in character development and story telling.

To me, anything by Hayao Miyazaki is worth watching. I have not been disappointed yet.

I just finished watching all of the Broken Blade OVA's. I enjoyed it, good character development, but it was kind of like Bastard! in that the ending of the anime is only part of the way through the manga story. So that was frustrating.

I'm currently in the Middle of re watching Macross and Netflix is sending me Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross on DVD.

You seriously haven't watched anything in 10 years? So you missed out when we watched Macross Frontier and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann? Those might not be the best examples especially if you're not into the sub genre's those are in.

are you looking more for a series, movie, or just anything?

I like them Japanese cartoons.

A Study in Pink said:
I also have another series I know nothing about called Puella Magi (or that's what the folder is called anyway) that I'll probably watch next.

This is pretty much the only anime from the last 5 years that I've enjoyed, and I know you love magical girls, so its twist on the genre should be something you'll like.

Luke, Tess and I watched Redline last weekend in glorious 1080p, and what a mindblower that was.
Haha, thinking about it now, the previous time I watched anything was the 3 of us + Matt watching the 2 Eva Rebuilds, also intoxicated. Drunken anime forever.


If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend Kaiba, a very excellent, offbeat 12 episode series by one of my favorite directors, Masaaki Yuasa.
http://...animenewsnetwork.com/...opedia/anime.php?id=9178
OP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvQwAdR25lk

I did watch some of Gurren Lagann, and I also watched a few here and there like Darker Than Black which I loved.

I deleted Gravitation. I tried to read the manga because I recall this show being so damn popular but, like every fucking manga it seems I try to pick up, there was too much rape in it and I also gave up on that shit.

I'm not sure I do like magical girls. I liked Sailor Moon and Utena and that's the sum total of all magical girl series I have seen, but I'll give this show a whirl.

I'm so hesitant about the new Eva. I liked the old Eva just fine.

I'm not looking for anything in particular, just wanted to know what people are watching! I'm open to anything. Except "moe" or anything resembling "Honey and Clover" because fuck that show forever.

I love the new Eva but I can't agree with the idea that it's more enjoyable or easier to understand than the old. I guess that all holds up until the back end of the second new movie, when it's mostly rehash/retelling, but from then on it takes such a radical turn that I can't imagine enjoying it fully unless you see it as an extension or alternative path to the original story, not a replacement (it comes not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it, see what I did there). Like (spoiler redacted) wouldn't have nearly as much impact if you weren't already familiar with (yadda yadda).

I love watching anime and I'm great at it.

Then again, I haven't watched any in forever, and I don't even know what is out/coming up/good anymore. But I'm digging the new Evangelion stuff too, yeah.

DJO Apple Juice said:
Luke, Tess and I watched Redline last weekend in glorious 1080p, and what a mindblower that was.

I saw Redline a couple of times in the theater here in LA and it was so weird seeing the crowd reaction to the film watching it subtitled as opposed to dubbed.

I really think that since this whole film is just a giant love letter to animation and the dub is pretty solid it's a much better experience to watch it dubbed so you don't have to keep reading when you should be soaking in the visuals.

NoI said:

I'm not sure I do like magical girls. I liked Sailor Moon and Utena and that's the sum total of all magical girl series I have seen, but I'll give this show a whirl.

Man if you "like" Sailor Moon I'd hate to see something you "love". Anyway, the important part is that you're familiar with the magical girl tropes and so you can appreciate it when genre tropes are twisted.

I'm currently making my way through the second Lupin III series (1977), and I'm loving it! Wacky super-thieving misadventures. I also recently made my way through the original Captain Harlock and Space Battleship Yamato. To be honest, I didn't think I would like any of these as much as I do. I mean, they definitely show their age sometimes, but they're got a certain inscrutable quality that I can't find so much in contemporary stuff (not that I've seen anything made more recently that about 2005). Maybe it's a freshness of genre that doesn't exist so much anymore since it's all been done before. Yamato in particular had me sitting in suspense almost every episode even though some of their futuristic technological conceits seem downright provincial in 2012.

Also, I like the feeling that I'm getting in touch with my animu ROOTS.

Major Tom said:
Detroit Metal City

Oh God yes, yes yes yes

I actually do not like Sailor Moon except for season 5. I have tried to watch it repeatedly over the last few years and for the most part, it's really awful and so much is shitty filler. I just got somehow caught up in owning the approximately 5 million toys made for the show and the nostalgia. I still love Utena, however, and it is my favorite anime.

I could not watch Harlock when I tried in college. It was just too slow.

I loved the Detroit Metal City manga!

Johnny Landmine said:
I love the new Eva but I can't agree with the idea that it's more enjoyable or easier to understand than the old. I guess that all holds up until the back end of the second new movie, when it's mostly rehash/retelling, but from then on it takes such...

Everything you said.

I still think it's really worth watching, but I need to see it as an alternate reality as well. I really love the series and adore The End of Evangelion.
The art is amazing in the rebuilds and you can really feel the weight of the Evas in the fight scenes.
It's lacking classical music though, so it is a little less universal with mood.

I mean honestly, some of the "bad" parts in Evangelion, I still like more than most things in general.

Out of other new things, I can't really provide much except the new Birdy the Mighty, Toradora, Le Chevalier D'eon and a few others. However, it really depends on your taste.

I would recommend watching older ones you may have missed while they came out. They definitely have a lot of reviews and they're bringing a lot back on Netflix. Like Noir, Macross series, Samurai Champloo.. it's all over the place.

Also, Shinichiro Watanabe has creating a new anime that will be released this year. It's called Sakamichi no Apollon and looks great.

A Study in Pink said:
I actually do not like Sailor Moon except for season 5. I have tried to watch it repeatedly over the last few years and for the most part, it's really awful and so much is shitty filler. I just got somehow caught up in owning the approximately 5 mil...

If you like the Detroit Metal City manga, you should DEFINITELY watch the anime. It's ridiculous in only the most charming of ways.

I've had Tiger and Bunny recommended to me by several different people, but haven't watched it yet. It looks cute and has handsome dudes in it so I'll probably give it a shot.

Tess the Meanie said:

It's lacking classical music though, so it is a little less universal with mood.

Honestly, I kind of liked the emphasis on the original score, rather than classical setpieces. Classical music during Big Robot Violence is cool, but by now it's pretty worn-out and the Rebuild movies don't have the luxury of being the ones making it cool in the first place like the original series did. The score for the Rebuild movies is really, really good.

2.0 does get a stern talking-to for double-dipping on the "innocent happy music during hardcore shit" bit, though. The dummy plug activation bit hits hard the first time, but then they do it better later on in the movie and it's like "really, guys, twice?"

I'm watching code geass because guilty crown is so terrible.

I'm currently watching:

Guilty Crown
New Prince of Tennis
One Piece
Kill Me Baby (can only watch this in 10 min spurts....mind gets blown if I watch more)

I never got around to watching Gundam Seed, so I'm watching Gundam Seed HD Remaster.

BTW, Ultimate Hellsing OVA #9 came out about a week ago.