I thought that one was only an average anime. Good to watch once but I have never been tempted to re-watch. And Brikhaus correctly describes Hachimaki, which is why his character got annoying to me.

Well, looks like I utterly failed at a recommendation.....

Don't worry, failure happens in this thread. Just read through it and you will see other recommendations have failed much worse.

To Heart

To Heart is, without a doubt, the most innocent anime to ever be adapted from an eroge. I mean, Kanon is raunchy by comparison, and unless you are turned on by yellow cotton pajamas, you will find no fan-service whatsoever. This anime is a pure slice-of-life drama where nothing particularly dramatic ever occurs.

Most people here will be familiar with the basic plot: the male lead is a lazy guy with little direction in his life, and he finds opportunities to get together with several female co-stars. What makes To Heart different is that it has none of usual harem clichés: no hot springs, no beaches, no embarrassing situations or innuendo whatsoever. I really like the result.

What I like best about this show, however, is the art, the music, and the overall mood. It was made in 1999 with pure cell animation, no CG or video editing was used. The backgrounds are these beautiful watercolor paintings and the characters are drawn with soft colors to match. It's positively gorgeous compared to other cell-animated shows e.g. Lain or pre-renewal Evangelion.



I have to say that another reason I love this show is that Akari, the main gal, is played wonderfully by Ayako Kawasumi (Mahoro, Nodame, Aoi Sakuraba, Kaori from Kanon). She also sings the ending theme. If you enjoy the genre, you should definitely check this title out because it is very well-done and quite unique. It might be too subtle for some people, though.

Baz wrote:yellow cotton pajamas

I'll give it a try but I have Gurren Lagann, Death Note and Gunbuster as priorities.

I don't think I have anything original to recommend. But if I were to recommend any animes they would be Eureka Seven, Full Metal Alchemist and Death Note.

^ read the first post in this thread.


I just finished Summer Wars.

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who directed another awesome movie, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars has it all: light humor, loss, reunion, family, a bit of romance, saving the world, great characters, badass martial arts. Also like Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Sadamoto does the character designs and if you've seen the former, you should make it a point to check out Summer Wars. They're pretty much the same type of movie: nothing groundbreaking or new, but great entertainment with some touching moments.

In Summer Wars, there's this world-wide network called OZ, it's pretty much the internet. It's hooked into pretty much everything, satellites, cell phones, nintendo DS, TVs, cars, etc. People have accounts and avatars, can play games, start businesses, socialize, etc. Kenji, the male lead, is a math genius and does some of the security stuff for OZ. He's asked to travel to the country by the female lead, he's school mate Natsuki, where her family has a huge house. It's Natsuki's grandmother's birthday and the entire family has gathered. As Kenji meets the motley crew of a family, the situation takes an unexpected turn. Which leads to another, and another, until they find themselves caught up in a terrorist plot within OZ in an attempt to save the planet.

I highly recommend this fun movie, especially if you liked Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Like I mentioned, it's not particularly complicated, innovative, or contemplative, it's just good fun. The only thing that bothered me at first was its use of CG, which represents the world within OZ. The actual animation is a bit rough around the edges like Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and by no means shoddy, so the crisp CG makes quite a contrast. I got used to it pretty quickly and not a lot of the movie happens within OZ so it didn't feel overdone.

It's not licensed for R1 yet, but I bet Bandai will also pick this one up, and I'll be buying the DVD. There's a raw floating around the internet that has Korean hardsubs, and a separate English subtitle file that's timed to those, if you don't want to wait for a license.

Ornette wrote:There's a raw floating around the internet that has Korean hardsubs, and a separate English subtitle file that's timed to those,

Hm, the version I torrented seems to have the timing and subtitles totally messed up. Was yours like that too?

I recommend Baccano! for those of you that like fast paced anime that end quickly but have you at the edge of your seat throughout its entirety. Baccano! is an anime that mixes the Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, and Crime genres into a thriller combo that lasts a mere thirteen episodes; however, those few episodes are a hell of a ride. The one thing that is amazing about Baccano! is how much story it covers in its thirteen episodes (sixteen if you count the three OVAs); the story is even set during three different periods of time (sometimes even four).

THE STORY: I will just quote the Plot summary from Wikipedia:

Aboard the ship Advenna Avis in 1711, a group of alchemists summon a demon in the hopes of gaining eternal life. The demon gives them an elixir of immortality and the method of ending their existence, by "devouring" one another, and grants the summoner Maiza Avaro the formula of the elixir. Maiza and most of the alchemists decide that no one else must become immortal; only Szilard Quates opposes. The next night, the alchemists begin to disappear, devoured by Szilard. Realizing the threat posed by staying together, they scatter across the globe.

In New York City during 1930, Szilard succeeds in recreating the elixir, only to have it stolen by young thug Dallas Genoard. The elixir is passed around the city by Dallas, the three mafiosi Gandor brothers and the two eccentric thieves Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent, all of whom do not realize what it is. Szilard makes Dallas an incomplete immortal (meaning he still ages) to retrieve the elixir. However, the Gandor and Firo Prochainezo and his Camorra family, the Martillo, accidentally consume the elixir. Firo falls in love with Szilard's homunculus Ennis. After she betrays Szilard, Firo devours him to save her from death. The Gandor cement Dallas to a barrel at the bottom of the Hudson River to punish him for killing Gandor members.

In late 1931, the Gandor fight the Runorata family for control of the same area. In an attempt to resolve the situation, Luck Gandor asks his adoptive brother Claire Stanfield, the legendary assassin, to travel to New York. Claire agrees to and boards the transcontinental train the Flying Pussyfoot, on which he works as a conductor. The train is hijacked by the Russo and Lemure gangs. Jacuzzi Splot, Nice Holystone and her gang attempt to protect the passengers while Claire assumes the identity of the Rail Tracer, a monster that eats train passengers, and slaughters the Russo and the Lemure. The train arrives in early 1932. Meanwhile, Eve Genoard searches for Dallas, putting her at odds with the Runorata, who want Dallas' immortality, and Luck, who is still angry over the deaths Dallas caused. Luck finally tells Eve where Dallas is, and with Claire's help, they end the turf war. Dallas disappears shortly after the barrel is pulled out of the water.

In 1933, Jacuzzi's operations begin to encroach on Gandor and Martillo turf. Representatives from both groups converge on Eve's home, where his gang is staying. At the same time, a mysterious group working for Huey Laforet arrives to enlist Jacuzzi's help; they have kidnapped Dallas to prove that immortality is possible, and convince Jacuzzi to join them. Elsewhere in New York, Mist Wall, the largest branch office of the military equipment researcher and developer Nebula, is bombed as according to Huey's plans.

The next year on Alcatraz Island, Ladd Russo, imprisoned for the slaughter aboard the Flying Pussyfoot, Firo, incarcerated for hiding a witness of the Mist Wall bombing, and Isaac, found guilty of various thefts, become friendly with one another and meet Huey, who was charged with treason and conspiracy years ago. Meanwhile, Christopher Shouldered, Huey's homunculus, and Graham Specter, Ladd Russo's loyal follower, cause trouble in Chicago. After, Jacuzzi and his gang return to Chicago while Ladd attempts to kill Huey.

LeoXiao wrote:

Ornette wrote:There's a raw floating around the internet that has Korean hardsubs, and a separate English subtitle file that's timed to those,

Hm, the version I torrented seems to have the timing and subtitles totally messed up. Was yours like that too?

Sorry, I haven't been around at the beginning of the holidays and didn't see this.

My subs were timed fine. Although, I got them separately and muxed them together myself.

Haven't done one of these for a while, and I think by the rules I'm owed at least one more by now -- not that there's been much to seriously recommend over the last couple of years

Mouryou no Hako

Wikipedia wrote:Police detective Kiba finds himself investigating a very strange case involving a girl hit by a train, her actress sister, and a sinister hospital shaped like a box. As the girl's friend's mother becomes obsessed with Mōryō, the police begin finding young girls' limbs strewn around the countryside in boxes.

Having come down from the exuberant fan-boy high of getting hold of the last (as-aired) episode, what really struck me about this series was that it felt more like cinema than just another cartoon -- the animation being used just to airbrush the irrelevant, imperfect and tawdry detail of live action, and leave what is important.

The animation itself uses restrained character designs by CLAMP, and a grainy, sepia-toned rendition that gives a period (late summer/early autumn 1952) feel.

How well adapted it is from the original detective/mystery novel, and how faithful the words I read to the original, I don't know; but it manages to lay its red herrings very cunningly -- a lot of the clues you need are there in plain sight, once you know to look, just concealed with a cunning use of misdirection.

The series really isn't going to be for everyone -- a whole episode, for example, is taken up with a discussion of the etymology and (super-)natural history of Mouryou, leaving the metaphorically mounting pile of dismembered limbs that has been building up for some episodes to one side as a separate strand of investigation is taken up. But it is nice, for once, to watch something that is literate, yet neither mires itself in the mundane nor condescends to the viewer.

---

Also, I just updated the master list on page 1.

I highly recommend 'Tokyo Godfathers' if you're in the mood for a film that's funny, sweet and moving. The animation looks amazing to me too (although I'm no expert).
The film revolves around three homeless people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. In their attempts to discover the baby's history, they encounter their own. Each has something in their past that they must deal with.
I actually laughed out loud a few times during this film which I don't usually do. I think the best word to describe this film is 'charming'. You root for the main characters and feel really good when the film is over.




Here's a link to a review of the film in Variety.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117922592.html?categoryid=31&cs=1[/i]

alabaster wrote:I highly recommend 'Tokyo Godfathers'

Could you elaborate --

The Eva Monkey in the very first post in the thread wrote:You must include a substinate explanation for why you liked it, what it is about, and why people should watch it. Also, if you can, include something in the way imagery or a link to another review or synopsis that you feel is pertinent.
...
Posts that fail to comply will be annihilated.

Even though Mushi-shi has been recommended, the previous rec didn't have much of a detailed review, so I'll post mine as well. Mods feel free to remove it:



(I'm kicking myself for not getting some screencaps myself since these don't do it justice).

Mushi-shi [2005-2006; Hiroshi Nagahama]

8.0/10

Do you ever get that feeling of being connected with nature? Of sitting outside on a rainy day and listening to the drops hitting the ground and smelling the wet grass, or of hiking in the mountains and taking in the sights and colors, of feeling that first bite of cold at the start of winter, or enjoy watching the leaves changing color in fall? That's what this series reminds me of; it's a celebration of the mystical and mythical that we sense in nature.

The series is about a life-force called Mushi. As Ginko (the main character) explains early on, if you stretch your arm out and imagine that the veins running through it represents life, then humans are at the tip of the middle finger, but as you go down the arm the veins converge, and the line between flora and fauna starts to blur, and when you trace the veins to your heart, that's what Mushi are. Essentially they are living things that aren't quite animals or plants that can take the shape and form of anything; rainbows, shadows, fire, etc., they can live apart from humanity or even in them; infecting eyes, noses, skin, etc. Ginko is a Mushi-shi, an expert on Mushi, who travels around helping people who have trouble with Mushi.

One of the remarkable things about the series is that it's not a good guy VS bad guy scenarios; in one telling episode a Mushi gains intelligence and converses with Ginko, saying that they can't help the fact that they're causing harm to humans because they're just trying to live, to which Ginko replies "so are we; but we're stronger". The series never paints Mushi as an enemy or some kind of evil force; they just are, they just exist, and as Ginko says in another episode "they're like a weird neighbor you just have to learn to live with."

The highlight of the series is the incredible art. This is a series to just sink into the aesthetics. Mushi-shi may have the richest use of colors and intricately drawn and detailed backgrounds I've ever seen in an anime series and the series is at its strongest when its reveling in its art. Combined with a slow and zen-like tone and pacing it's really a series to watch in a meditative mood.

While the aesthetics are sublime I admit that I often did become bored with the narrative aspect. The series' constant melancholy tone, lack of continuing storyline, and somewhat bland characters and stories somewhat detract from the enjoyment of the artistry. That's not to say the stories are never good; some are excellent, but especially towards the middle episodes there is a serious lag. If you're watching it from beginning to end it can become a little monotonous and is actually probably better watched ep. by ep. when you're in the mood.

Some of the highlight episodes include Raindrops and Rainbows about a man chasing a rainbow that's actually a Mushi, Inside the Cage where a man and his wife are trapped in a huge bamboo forest, Sunrise Serpent about a mother who is losing her memories, A Sea of Writings about a woman whose life revolves around writing about Mushi, and Cotton Changeling about Mushi that replace a woman's children with their own.

Overall a really good series that I highly recommend watching ep. by ep. over time.

you know, I've always felt that with anime series your reviews themselves and the number "rating" often seem to clash - I never get that feeling from your movie reviews... weird

I mean, based on your review 8.0 seems more than a bit...low. Meh, I'm rambling. Anyway:

While the aesthetics are sublime I admit that I often did become bored with the narrative aspect. The series' constant melancholy tone, lack of continuing storyline, and somewhat bland characters and stories somewhat detract from the enjoyment of the artistry. That's not to say the stories are never good; some are excellent, but especially towards the middle episodes there is a serious lag. If you're watching it from beginning to end it can become a little monotonous and is actually probably better watched ep. by ep. when you're in the mood.

Mushishi is more than a bit like Aria (apparently, I haven't yet seen either) in that they're kind of "watch one ep every now and then to dive in another world" series - they're really not suited for "marathoning" for reasons I quoted there.

That said I yesterday bought first vol of Mushishi manga and was highly impressed. Gorgeous art (in first two chapters/stories layout was a bit chaotic occasionally but that's my one and only gripe with what I read), mysterious atmosphere etc. really sucked me in. Fantastic stuff.

That impression combined with this review has put it quite high on my "to-watch" list. :)

Xard wrote:I yesterday bought first vol of Mushishi manga and was highly impressed. Gorgeous art, mysterious atmosphere etc. really sucked me in. Fantastic stuff.

Take the manga, add sound, colour, motion and music; get the anime. One of the handful of cases where the animated adaptation is superior.

Mr. Tines wrote:

Xard wrote:I yesterday bought first vol of Mushishi manga and was highly impressed. Gorgeous art, mysterious atmosphere etc. really sucked me in. Fantastic stuff.

Take the manga, add sound, colour, motion and music; get the anime. One of the handful of cases where the animated adaptation is superior.

yeah, I figured out it would enormously benefit from colours (I can already "sense" all the greens from b&w art...so I can't wait seeing its animated art direction) and especially sound.

This is actually why I bought only vol 1 (I could've got 7 out of 10 right there for cheap), I don't want to "spoil" too many stories beforehand.

Xard wrote:they're kind of "watch one ep every now and then to dive in another world" series - they're really not suited for "marathoning" for reasons I quoted there.

Yes, you're very likely right. But not knowing this I just happened to marathon it and I think my boredom is reflected in my "low" 8 rating. I also meant to add one other problem I had is that it seems that too many eps. devote way too much time to exposition heavy flashbacks where a character informs Ginko of all the relevant information in their history that's lead them to their current situation. I guess I can see the necessity but I do not watch animes to see close-ups of characters faces when they world they exist in is as gorgeous as in Mushi-shi.

Gravion

Like giant robots destroying the ever loving crap out of cyborgs? Like hearing said thing with rock music? Like physics breaking fight scenes and like to see them as often as possible? Like comedic fan service of the over-zealous caliber? If you said yes to any of those questions chances are you'll enjoy Gravion.

The story takes place in what appears to be the not too distant future where Earth becomes under attack by cyborg-esqe organisms from planet Llambias called the Zeravire that seek to conquer all life enriched planets because of their creator, Hugi Zeravire. The Earth's defense forces prove powerless against even the most basic of Zeravire forces until mysterious billionaire Klein Sandman recruits six individuals with special genes that allow them to resist ultra dense gravity to pilot the Earth's only defense against the Zeravire threat: Super Heavyweight God (later Sol) Gravion! Although the main pilot of God Gravion and squad commander is Toga Tenkuji, the story circles around high school student Eiji Shigure as he tries to find his missing sister Ayaka with his only lead being a letter she sent him long ago. Zeravire fighting aside the secondary plot of this series centers around Eiji finding his sister and showing Toga as well as a mysterious and shy Gran Knight (the name of the pilots of Gravion) named Leele the world around them since they've lived in Sandman's castle their whole lives served by a variety of maids.

This series is action up the ante, nearly every episode in both halves has either an epic destruction sequence in the well executed fight scenes or a nice plot twist. Most of the music was done by JAM Project, who also did some tracks to the Super Robot War titles, and believe me when I say the music sung by this group is pulse poundingly explosive and rockin'. Most of the characters can range from okay to annoying depending on how high you set your standards, although Sandman's easily one of the best, if not the best, pimp in any anime, so much so in the last three episodes he actually uses his own mech known as the God Sigma Gravion. Story wise it does not really have much the first half, but in the second half it's full of plot twists and nice development. The art style more or less reminds me of Zoids: Fuzors or Gundam SEED although I'm not sure why.

Anyone that liked GaoGaiGar will most likely enjoy this, some of the same staff members worked on this series and it shows (specifically in the transformation sequences). This series is also funny, but it's definitely not for anyone under the age 13. Leele is also strangely reminiscent of Rei or maybe that's just me. If you liked Gainax's fan service chances are you'll like the stuff here, there's more of it and chances are you'll laugh extremely hard from it. It's a definite recommendation to anyone that likes the super robot genre, although do not expect an "everyone dies" type of ending because it's rather light hearted. My only real complaint is that the ending themes are rather bleh-ish to the point that it's the one reason I don't rank the second half of this series as my second or first favorite anime. There are also some minor nitpicks in several episodes, but if you can get passed that and are willing to see it to the end you'll have an awesome time.

I am open for suggestions on a new anime. If I don't get anything good I'm gunna just go for Gunslinger Girl - any compelling titles of the past 7 years?