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[hirokazu]

I don't hate Evangelion, I think it was merely above average although it had some good ideas and a few epic scenes but as a show it was above average.

What I hate are Evangelion, and when I say this I don't mean merely someone who likes it I mean someone who takes it seriously, like real serious, then they piss me off to no end. Reason is, because while I think they're obviously crazy for taking a work of fiction as some legitimate religious history(yes I know there was a Lillith, don't care) worthy of lengthy discussion or it's take on humanity as some deep concept, it was a cartoon! Just because you masked your bandage girl fetish and suicidal thoughts with classical music doesn't mean it's all of a sudden some great piece that needs to be studied in philosophy class. Really though, what sets them at the top of my hate list though is all the other weird genres of anime are clearly stupid and have appropriate labels, like incest, rape, pedophilia, but what do you classify someone who's taken Evangelion to the extreme, a pseudo intellect? Doesn't sting enough.

Err... I'm not sure if there's anybody here who takes Evangelion that way. You'd probably have to go to some dedicated anime or Eva board to get that shit. I don't go there, so I don't get that shit.

The show certainly makes you think, but a work of fiction is a work of fiction. You could argue the same about all religious texts if you want to go there though. BAM!

 

[Blader]

I think the "problem" with Evangelion is that Shinji and Asuka are so mentally fucked in the head that makes it difficult to identify or sympathize with them. A lot of the spiritual/philosophical/existential conclusions the characters reach at the end of the series are so obvious and redundant to a normal person, that it feels less like a relevant commentary on the human condition and more like just a group of insane individuals coming to terms with themselves.

It's basically a 26-part therapy session for Anno. :lol

Which, imo, is what makes these new movies so interesting. Now that Anno is a more mentally sound person than he was 15 years ago, I'm expecting (or at least, hoping) that "Rebuild" will be more insightful than the series was.

 

[Natural]

I didn't really rate Evangelion either to be honest, I thought it was decent enough though.

Other series I would recommend aside from the Bleach/Naruto/Samurai Champloo/Cowboy Bebop suggestions are: Eureka seveN, School Rumble, Samurai 7, Last Exile and Hajime no Ippo.

 

[mAcOdIn]

Err... I'm not sure if there's anybody here who takes Evangelion that way. You'd probably have to go to some dedicated anime or Eva board to get that shit. I don't go there, so I don't get that shit.

The show certainly makes you think, but a work of fiction is a work of fiction. You could argue the same about all religious texts if you want to go there though. BAM!

I've met a handful of them in my town. I doubt you or JayDubya are quite the fanatics I mean.

It's one thing to get inspired by something and a totally different thing to make the world conform top it. It was annoying because I worked at a video store with a ton of young kids and I mentioned once that I liked anime, big mistake, because it's not that I like anime but that I like some anime, I don't hold it on some pedestal to be worshiped like some of the 17 year olds did.

Funny story about kids, I bought a Reo Speedwagon CD while I was working there and one of the girls asked me who Rio Speedwagon was, or having to answer questions about which Queen CD to buy her father since she wasn't familiar with them. Actually she was pretty cool, it's just jarring to feel like you're so much older when in reality it's less than a decade's difference.

I bet those guys woulda' made me build a cardboard EVA and mock fight angels in the college park had I talked any longer with them, luckily I'm not opposed to being mean every once in a while.

 

[Mamesj]

Are there any good detective story-style animes? I've seen Monster...and that might be it.


OP-- watching anime can be fun in moderation. There is enough "cream of the crop" anime (that isn't all schoolgirls and innuendo) to keep you going for a long time.

I'll throw Ergo Proxy onto the pile.

 

[hirokazu]

Are there any good detective story-style animes? I've seen Monster...and that might be it.


OP-- watching anime can be fun in moderation. There is enough "cream of the crop" anime (that isn't all schoolgirls and innuendo) to keep you going for a long time.

I'll throw Ergo Proxy onto the pile.

Detective Conan? I don't know if it's any good coz I haven't really watched it, but it is/was fairly popular?

I've met a handful of them in my town. I doubt you or JayDubya are quite the fanatics I mean.

It's one thing to get inspired by something and a totally different thing to make the world conform top it. It was annoying because I worked at a video store with a ton of young kids and I mentioned once that I liked anime, big mistake, because it's not that I like anime but that I like some anime, I don't hold it on some pedestal to be worshiped like some of the 17 year olds did.

Funny story about kids, I bought a Reo Speedwagon CD while I was working there and one of the girls asked me who Rio Speedwagon was, or having to answer questions about which Queen CD to buy her father since she wasn't familiar with them. Actually she was pretty cool, it's just jarring to feel like you're so much older when in reality it's less than a decade's difference.

I bet those guys woulda' made me build a cardboard EVA and mock fight angels in the college park had I talked any longer with them, luckily I'm not opposed to being mean every once in a while.

LOL.

Evangelion was the first one that really got me into anime, I guess I'm still a big fan because of the nostalgia attached to it. I've seen a lot of good anime in my time, and a lot of bad, but I feel like I've grown out of it.. I rarely watch anime now except for the occasional movies, and new stuff that I TRY to get into and fail. Yet for some reason, anything concerning Evangelion still draws me in.

And I'll get down and discuss it story-wise when there's a bunch of people talking about it - like in the EVA 1.0/2.0 movie threads, but I don't care all that much about the philosophical side or whatever because it's too stupid and convoluted (and to be honest, although I understand the basic premise of the ending, shit still don't make sense to me in the details.)

The recommendation lists made here are generally quite good, BTW.

 

[Mamesj]

Evangelion is entertaining...and comes highly recommended if you like robots battling each other and good anime nonsense tension drama™ It was definitely one of those shows that I burned through in a few days.

don't understand why it's analyzed in a "philosophical" sense by people though. Wouldn't Freudian psychology be an infinitely better framework to analyze the show?

and to completely fuck up the thread: the last two episodes weren't supposed to be that way, they ran out of money, there's nothing deep to read into them, go watch End of Evangelion instead of the last two episodes, that's the real ending kthxbye!

 

[GCX]

Detective Conan? I don't know if it's any good coz I haven't really watched it, but it is/was fairly popular?

It's a pretty good show and recommended if you like detective stuff.
And I quess it's still fairly popular since there was a Lupin vs. Conan tv special few months back for example.

 

[The Lamonster]

Anime gurus: Recommend me SCI-FI anime!


I want something manly, something adult, something serious, something very sci-fi about a huge civilization spanning multiple planets and occasionally featuring space travel.

Does Cowboy Bebop fit the bill? I also liked The Big O when I caught it on Adult Swim. It was very cool and film noir but also sci-fi. Along these lines, please recommend me a quality series on DVD that I can spend some time consuming in my downtime.


side note: Cowboy Bebop and The Big O are cool to me but I'm wondering if there's something even more sci-fi out there, like something where the soundtrack isn't jazz but like ambient or electronica or something that is more sci-fi than these two shows. Thanks

 

[Mato]

Forget all the subquality idiocities. Akira and Ghost in the Shell is all you need to ever watch. Ok, Studio Ghibli stuff too.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Ghost in the Shell started off a bit meh for me. Only saw 4 episodes but does it get a lot better? The animation and story were awful...

 

[BuckRobotron]

I took a long break after dipping into anime years ago, highlighted by Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain, still have Big O II dvds. Sold most others off years ago, though movies like Patlabor 2 and Jin-Roh are permanent of course. Now been watching more thanks to sales on the web (Rightstuf/Amazon sales and Hulu/YT). And I've seen a lot of series now...but these I really dug recently:

-- All Slayers seasons, just picked up the series sets on sale after seeing the series on Hulu/YT. Had never watched the series until this past year. Slayers NEXT (season 2) is a must-own among all anime DVDs.

-- Gungrave. Always liked the game (and planning to replay soon), but an anime adaptation sounded like it would be an action-overload cheese-fest. Apparently, those making the anime thought the same. Anime is fantastic and very serious in overall tone, with action in the mix of course.

-- Solty Rei. Slow to start, but the second half of the series downshifts a couple gears and takes off. Love the mature character co-lead, it isn't just about the cute Solty.

These all also benefit from good to superb (the latter two) English dubs.

 

[Mato]

Ghost in the Shell started off a bit meh for me. Only saw 4 episodes but does it get a lot better? The animation and story were awful...

The original movie dude. I don't even know what the series is all about.

 

[Mamesj]

The original movie dude. I don't even know what the series is all about.

it's basically the movie stretched/fleshed out into a series. Even for a picky-ass person like myself, the laughing man arc (aka first season) is great, but I recommend the dub unless you can read super fast. Lots of techno-babble that flies out quickly.

the original movie and first season of the series are both good. Haven't seen Innocence. Then the second season is more action, not as cerebral, and I didn't like the arc as much (and the SAC movie was meh too.)

 

[Mato]

I doubt I'll dig into the series. I just don't want to destroy my impression of the movie. Innocence unfortunately got way to much style-over-substance. In fact even the artistry feels exagerated and has an overload puke value to it. The last scene in the original movie inside the chappel, especially those few seconds were the tank grabs the girls head and spins her like a ragdoll are just iconic and inspired beyond comprehension. Unsurprassed by anything I've ever seen as a human being.

 

[Mamesj]

I doubt I'll dig into the series. I just don't want to destroy my impression of the movie. Innocence unfortunately got way to much style-over-substance. In fact even the artistry feels exagerated and has an overload puke value to it. The last scene in the original movie inside the chappel, especially those few seconds were the tank grabs the girls head and spins her like a ragdoll are just iconic and inspired beyond comprehension. Unsurprassed by anything I've ever seen as a human being.

That's a tough bar to pass, so yeah, I don't recommend the series. It's certainly more audience-friendly and stylish....not as cerebral and dark like a lot of 80s and 90s anime movies. I wish they still made anime movies like that...there's so much fan service these days.

 

[ilikeme]

any recommendations? more interested in tv shows than movies. I'm thinking maybe I should just restart Evangelion. I don't know why I stopped watching past the first disc or two, but that was like 8-9 years ago.

I'm mostly interested in stuff with good character development but also some action and/or adventure, and cool settings. More interested in modern or futuristic/sci-fi than medieval/fantasy stuff. Also, the less goofy shit the better. I think that's why I was turned off from Trigun after finishing Bebop, hoping it would be similar.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

I really think that's what you're looking for. Except maybe the character development part? It's more like Bebop from what I can remember. Same composer so the soundtrack is competent.. hmm. It's got the futuristic/sci-fi going on, it's not at all goofy and has cool a cool setting and great action scenes. Go for it.

 

[zoukka]

I hated Stand Alone Complex in the beginning. The horrible style of the characters, crappy animation (3D modelling UGH) and really basic plot disgusted me at first.

But after you get through the first five or so episodes it gets interesting. And in the end of the second season, it was my favourite anime series of all time. Looks are deceiving.

 

[Future PhaZe]

I hated Stand Alone Complex in the beginning. The horrible style of the characters, crappy animation (3D modelling UGH) and really basic plot disgusted me at first.

But after you get through the first five or so episodes it gets interesting. And in the end of the second season, it was my favourite anime series of all time. Looks are deceiving.

Hmmm. Might give this another go.