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[-Winnie-]

If you like quirky comedies, I'd also recommend Yakitate!! Ja-Pan, a comedy about competitive pastry and bread baking. Yes, baking. Seriously one of the funniest series I've seen of any kind of show.

This.

 

[Cloudy]

Eureka Seven

 

[JaMarco]

The best part of Berserk is the outtakes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaAiSWXRCiI

:lol :lol

 

[ilikeme]

His And Her Circumstances / Kare Kano (Kareshi to Kanojo no Jijou)

If you like teen romances with lots of comedy, this is the best one. Brilliant.

Cowboy Bebop
Wolf's Rain
etc.

 

[DrForester]

His And Her Circumstances / Kare Kano (Kareshi to Kanojo no Jijou)

If you like teen romances with lots of comedy, this is the best one. Brilliant.

So long as you read the manga. The anime is crap after halfway through.

 

[ilikeme]

So long as you read the manga. The anime is crap after halfway through.

I've heard that said so many times. I loved it all the way through. The animation took a hit and they got creative/retarded but I still thought it was funny and touching. Just don't expect resolution.

 

[Zoso]

I'm not really into anime at all, but I did really enjoy Death Note and what I saw of DBZ. Death Note is incredibly easy to get into, while DBZ is slower paced(sometimes too slow) and takes a while to get used to.

 

[En-ou]

I highly recommend:

All Studio Ghibli works
Rurouni Kenshin
Trigun
Cowboy Bebop
One Piece
Naruto - Stop watching after the "Sasuke Retrieval Mission - Vs the Sound Ninjas"
Hunter X Hunter
The Twelve Kingdoms
Monster
Scrapped Princess
Detective Conan
Hajime no Ippo
Hikaru no Go
Prince of Tennis
Death Note
Lupin III - Movies & Specials
Great Teacher Onizuka

Some popular ones I didn't like:
Bleach - just too plain and generic to me, it's like it tries too hard to be 'cool', just to boring, seems like it's meant for brainless teens
Full Metal Alchemist - after watching like 20 episodes and hoping it gets better, I just wanted to throw up at the sound of the characters, annoying show

 

[Pimpwerx]

I think it's abundantly clear from this thread (and hell, from all of our experience), Cowboy Bebop is the defacto starter anime. It's got good characters, a good story, GOOD VARIETY and it's short enough you can watch it all. After that, you'll know what you like more, action or dialogue. I'm an action junky, so I lean towards shows that are heavy on action, but Cowboy Bebop is such a good all-around series that it's the best place to start off. Then you'll not only get one incredible anime series under your belt, you'll know if you'd prefer quirky/dialogue-heavy anime like FLCL or more action-based fare like One Piece. If you still can't tell after Bebop, watch FMA's first 6 or 7 eps (the new series) and that's another great story with great characters, but slightly heavier on the action. Then you'll know if you want more action or less. But Bebop and FMA are hands-down my favorite shows.

My favorite anime movie is Ninja Scrolls. Although, I will admit that outside the fights, it's an almost forgettable movie. But Jubei is one hell of a badass, and he runs across some interesting characters. The first battle he has turned me on to anime in general. I liked anime after Akira, but Ninja Scrolls made me a fan. PEACE.

EDIT: I like Trigun too, but it starts off kinda slow IMO, and the main character never quite reaches his potential, which was always a turnoff for me with shows.

 

[Blader]

Yu Yu Hakusho - Also underrated. Definitely the best shonen fighting anime out there, the dub is hilarious, and it's really cheap compared to other anime. I haven't watched much of One Piece, but I really don't get why people are in love with that serious and ignore this one.

I thought the dub was pretty good, actually.

(Unless "hilarious" isn't supposed to be a negative comment)

 

[Darkman M]

Berserk & Ippo should have you set for a minute.

 

[Dante23]

I also think the FMP series (Full Metal Panic) were good "starters" for newbies. Good mix of everything in the first season, then the 2nd season is all comedy, with the 3rd mainly action/drama.

Pretty much. You can't go wrong with this, I started with Fumoffu and now it's one of my favorites series if not my favorite.

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I thought the dub was pretty good, actually.

(Unless "hilarious" isn't supposed to be a negative comment)

No, I mean it's really good.

 

[Tamanon]

To get a good idea if Yu Yu Hakusho is your bag, definitely check out the movie Poltergeist Report. It's awesome.

 

[Silkworm]

YES. Woohoo! Finally. It's usually me and Zoe who always recommends Gintama to people, but I'm glad there's other people that are recommending it!


Yes yes yes yes!!

Seriously, I don't know why Gintama doesn't get the love it deserves. It's a great anime. There's a lot of comedy, great stories, references/parodies of other anime, amazing awesome action arcs...! What more could you possibly want? Oh yes, it also has a very great cast in terms of voice acting. One of the best I've heard in my opinion.

Just curious, but is it anything like Excel Saga then? It sort of sounds like it in regards to the parodies, but I'm guessing it might not be quite as bizarre as Excel Saga often ends up being (though I suppose in regards to bizarre, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo > Excel Saga).

 

[Patriots7]

Bleach! It has it's bad points, but it's still great.

(Not to hijack, but could someone reccommend some anime for someone who enjoyed: Bleach, Naruto, Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, Tenchi, [basically everything that was on Toonami, RIP] I've tried One Piece, but just wanted to get some more options, as it's been painfully slow to progress through it so far, although I hear it gets a lot better)

 

[Silkworm]

Bleach! It has it's bad points, but it's still great.

(Not to hijack, but could someone reccommend some anime for someone who enjoyed: Bleach, Naruto, Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, Tenchi, [basically everything that was on Toonami, RIP] I've tried One Piece, but just wanted to get some more options, as it's been painfully slow to progress through it so far, although I hear it gets a lot better)

Well, there's also Cowboy Bebop which was on Toonami, so if you haven't already seen that that might be up your alley

 

[navii]

start with FLCL, then you can stop, u've seen the best.

but if you do continue check out the following personal favourites (*pulls out DVD walled with Anime DVDs)

Ive culled my list by a lot so here goes:

Cowboy Bebop
Last Exile
Paradise Kiss
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi.
Akira
Porco Rosso

 

[Rewrite]

Just curious, but is it anything like Excel Saga then? It sort of sounds like it in regards to the parodies, but I'm guessing it might not be quite as bizarre as Excel Saga often ends up being (though I suppose in regards to bizarre, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo > Excel Saga).

Not really bizarre as Excel Saga or Bobobo. When I say parodies, I mean they references to other Shonen Jump series and tv shows from Japan. An example would be like the one I'll link to at the bottom of this post which is a parody of Prince of Tennis. There's also some episodes (Episode 25) where the whole episode is a parody of Death Note, but with a hilarious twist.


Take a look. This one is the Prince of Tennis clip.

 

[TheChaos]

Since nobody else recommended it, check out the Revolutionary Girl Utena series. It's very surreal and deals with a lot of interesting ideas.

 

[Silkworm]

Not really bizarre as Excel Saga or Bobobo. When I say parodies, I mean they references to other Shonen Jump series and tv shows from Japan. An example would be like the one I'll link to at the bottom of this post which is a parody of Prince of Tennis. There's also some episodes (Episode 25) where the whole episode is a parody of Death Note, but with a hilarious twist.


Take a look. This one is the Prince of Tennis clip.

Ah, I think I see. Thanks So it's somewhat more subtle than the prior anime titles I referenced, which is fine by me.

But, I don't see a Region 1 release of this anime... So oh well :-\

 

[suzu]

Baccano!
Last Exile
Monster

 

[tri_willy]

Suzuka along with what has already been recommended



Plot: Yamato Akitsuki travels to Tokyo alone to study in one of the high schools located within the area. He lives in with his aunt who operates a public bath solely for the ladies in the local district and begins his normal high-school life. One day, he chances upon a girl in school and is immediately mesmerised by her beauty. He is shocked when he realise later that the girl, Suzuka, is actually living next door to him. From then on, Yamato's ordinary life begins to change little by little.

plot info shamelessly stolen from ANN

 

[Jirotrom]

look at my avvy.... Hajime no ippo, its the best and it wont fail you. then GTO "Great Teacher Onizuka" after these 2 youll have a new found love.

 

[GCX]

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Yep. This.

Such an awesome and insane show.

 

[bigmit3737]

Great Teacher Onizuka!
Beck
Prince of Tennis



EDIT: Holy Shit this thread just made me realize how much anime I haven't seen.

 

[Mirimar]

i'm sorry, but we have souls and are not interested in horrifically scarring the poor OP for life.

From Bible Black? Isn't it more like spiritual enlightenment?

 

[Firestorm]

My Top 3 are FullMetal Alchemist, Death Note, and the still running One Piece. Absolutely amazing shows that rank as my top 3 taking into account both western and eastern series.

FMA starts getting good about 10 - 12 episodes in.
Death Note gets good at episode 2.
One Piece gets good after like episode 40. But after that HOOLYYY SHIIIT for 360 more episodes. And on from the way things look.

 

[Lau]

No discussion

 

[GreyMatter]

my shortlist:
Kino's Journey
Kino's Journey
Kino's Journey
Kino's Journey..

I love you.

Seriously, キノの旅[Kino's Travels] does not get enough love or attention. It's one of my favorite series, and it manages to make one hell of an impact through the most simple means in its storytelling.

Anyway, I'll throw my favorite anime feature film into the pile: MindGame

 

[Haly]

I do love Kino's Journey but it's not something I would recommend to someone just getting into anime. Maybe after they've become accustomed to anime cliches and want something different.

My two cents:
Cowboy Bebop
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Both easy to get into and generally good.

 

[Ashenor]

Hmm i looked and Berserk is 29.99 at best buy i was thinking Escaflowne tomorrow but i might grab this.

I have a friend that is going to let me borrow Cowboy Bebop during the week, but i might grab something from best buy tomorrow.

 

[octopusman]

Anyway, I'll throw my favorite anime feature film into the pile: MindGame

This had the trippyest vision of God/Afterlife that I've ever seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E26FGlf4eXI

 

[antiloop]

These are the best IMO. All highly recommended.

Just want to begin with the series that is superior to Evangelion in every area:

Rahxephon.

Shoujo/History

Rose of Versaille (Old but among the best and about the only Shoujo I have ever enjoyed)

History/feudal

Rurouni Kenshin TV series and OVAs

SCI-FI

Seikai no Monshou and Seikai no Senki
Full Metal Panic S1

Fantasy

Juuni Kokki (The Twelve Kingdoms)
Scrapped Princess

Romance/comedy

Maison Ikkoku

Violence/Gore

Berserk

Sports

Slam Dunk
Hajime no Ippo

School/comedy

School Rumble
Kimagure Orange Road
Great Teacher Onizuka

Comedy

Golden Boy
Trigun

 

[shintoki]

Not really bizarre as Excel Saga or Bobobo. When I say parodies, I mean they references to other Shonen Jump series and tv shows from Japan. An example would be like the one I'll link to at the bottom of this post which is a parody of Prince of Tennis. There's also some episodes (Episode 25) where the whole episode is a parody of Death Note, but with a hilarious twist.


Take a look. This one is the Prince of Tennis clip.

You know what...the one series Gintama just wasn't up to par with was PoP. Compare it to this

Really...How can you compare. Its like supposed to be series, But has something on par with a Yakitate Japan Reaction :lol

 

[CiSTM]

Great Teacher Onizuka was my first anime and it got me into it. Such a great show.

 

[Rewrite]

You know what...the one series Gintama just wasn't up to par with was PoP. Compare it to this

Really...How can you compare. Its like supposed to be series, But has something on par with a Yakitate Japan Reaction :lol

:lol I KNEW you were going to link to the Tezuka Zone. Oh my god. I cannot stop laughing. I've watched that fucking clip like 20 times now and I LAUGH every single fucking time I watch it. :lol :lol Just fucking ridiculous. hahahahahaha

 

[Branduil]

Cowboy Bebop

Action, comedy, drama, suspense, jazz. Just one of the most fun TV shows ever made.

Escaflowne

One of the few shows that manages to successfully blend shoujo, shonen, mecha, and fantasy. The characters are all interesting and the soundtrack is gorgeous.

Azumanga Daioh

The quintessential slice-of-life comedy. If you don't like this then you probably won't like most shows in the genre.

Kino's Journey

An interesting series of studies on human culture and customs disguised as an adventure show.

Haibane Renmei

A slow-paced drama with excellent characters and a unique setting.

Evangelion

You pretty much have to watch this at some point.

When They Cry

A disturbing mystery/horror series. Probably better to watch this after watching a few other series first.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

A sci-fi/schoolife show with quirky characters and excellent production value.

 

[ReiGun]

Just thought I'd add my Yu Yu Hakusho recommendation to all the others. It's really one of my favorite action anime. I'll also suggest Dragonball. Not "Z" but the original series that started it all.

Good characters, comedy, and awesome fights. Plus, you'll be able to see where more modern anime like Naruto and One Piece got their inspiration.

 

[Ganondorfo]

You people here have no anime taste for not saying gungrave, last exile, hikaru no go, fantastic children, noein and rahxephon.

 

[Hitokage]

Yay for throwing out 100 different anime titles. That'll narrow it down!

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Yay for throwing out 100 different anime titles. That'll narrow it down!

I agree with this. Saying what's good about the anime or why you like it would be a huge help.

I also agree with the Dragonball recommendation. It's more comedy than action, and while it might not be the best anime ever, it's sure as hell better than Dragonball


(12 episodes later)


Z

DBZ makes me fall asleep. It's so boring and drawn out.

 

[Hitokage]

DBZ makes me fall asleep. It's so boring and drawn out.

I can't get over how episode 6 in the DB Kai reedit of the show is already where episode 19 was before.

 

[JayDubya]

I can't get over how episode 6 in the DB Kai reedit of the show is already where episode 19 was before.

That seems entirely plausible, actually. The pacing of Z was atrocious.

 

[shawnlreed]

look up "Escaflowne"

edit: the series not the movie.

Totally agree
This was the first anime I ever watched, and in many ways still the best.

 

[hirokazu]

Then wait for the last two new EVA movies.

Then bail the fuck out of anime.

 

[Pein]

Yay for throwing out 100 different anime titles. That'll narrow it down!

just saying anime is way too broad anymore.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Start and end with OP...probably the most complete series in anime..

Check out Monster, Berserk and Nausicaa also...

I've watched or read alot of the stuff here...and you can't go wrong with these three.

Cowboy Bebop is worth a shot as well, although the series goes down hill and cliche when it strays from the bounty hunting...the movie is excellent...

FMA is pretty great as well...although gets a little bogged down at points

 

[Ashenor]

Yay for throwing out 100 different anime titles. That'll narrow it down!

Actually it has helped quite a bit, a lot like Berserk, Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, Great Teacher Onizuka, 12 Kingdoms, Escaflowne, Hajime no Ippo, and One piece all have been recommened by quite a few people and all are on my list to check out soon. Kino's Journey also sounds pretty good among quite a few others. I have learned a lot from the thread so far.

Thanks again for the people that took the time to reply and right out write out descriptions of what a lot of these are.

 

[Blader]

Speaking of Escaflowne...

Is the dub any good? I remember it aired on Fox Kids many many years ago, and everyone pretty much hated it, but was that because of the forced editing or was the dub just bad to begin with?