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So, you want to watch anime...

Jrzag42

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Shoot, I didn't mean to hit send
 

It'sOnRandom

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Oh, forgot to mention, there's a point in Death Note where it starts to go downhill in my opinion, you'll understand when you get there. I always forget about that part of the show, and I suppose I never ended up finishing it.

My friend says he can never watch past episode 25 so I'm guessing that's where you believe it goes down hill, I'm so far on episode 27 so far I think it's just about the same.

Also I never realised there was three whole death note films, only one so I'll check them out soon.

 

Jrzag42

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My friend says he can never watch past episode 25 so I'm guessing that's where you believe it goes down hill, I'm so far on episode 27 so far I think it's just about the same.

Also I never realised there was three whole death note films, only one so I'll check them out soon.
There's actually 4, with the Japanese movies there's also a spinoff about L, but I've never seen it.
 

IlFanEditore

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Just started my first anime yesterday, Death Note (probably the most well known). So far I'm on around episode 17 and I'm absoultely loving it so far.

I've been told to watch Code Geyoss next, however I wanted your guys' opinions on it first if that is a good one to go to next.
Death Note & Code Geass were my first approach to "mature" anime. They were broadcasted here in Italy on MTV (and public service Rai) years and years ago. I agree that after some "events" Death Note gets worse than the first part, but I've found all of it, at the very least, enjoyable.
Even though I'm definitely not an expert... As others suggested, I recommend Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood aswell. And also Evangelion, Black Lagoon. The last one I watched was the horror (?) "Another".
And then there's the world of anime movies, with amazing works such as many Miyazaki movies (Mononoke, Howl's, Spirited away, etc.). For more mature audiences I surely recommend Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, the soooo surreal Paprika), Akira, Ghost in the Shell, The empire of corpses, etc.
 

Last Impressions

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Watching Anime has never entered my mind until recently. My 13 year old is a massive fan and for her Birthday week we were held to ransom and made to watch the Death Note series. It took a while to get into it but get into it i did...the reason being is the music was just immense - so so so good. We have watched the first part of the live action series which i suppose is blasphemy to anime lovers but i'd love to incorporate the original score into that series as a little experiment.

I have watched the Live Action remake of Ghost in the Shell and have since bought the Anime bluray to watch and have also recently purchased Perfect Blue & Paprika but have yet to still see them. I have seen some subtle anime and although i have to switch my brain into a new gear with some of the more adolescent aspects of some stories i quite liked "Your Name" and "Silent Voice" which were quite sweet . If i can't beat my kids i might as well join them...mmm that sounded weird :)
 

mnkykungfu

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Also I never realised there was three whole death note films, only one so I'll check them out soon.
I've never been able to get into the series, but I remember all my friends in Japan lamenting how horrible the live action films were. They were all fans, so take that for what you will.

If you want some other titles to consider I recommend any/all of these:
  • Cowboy Bebop
Still one of the greats, I second this. It's also one that has quite a bit of wackiness in the first 5/6 episodes. Again, if you can get past "the dog episode", then it's all uphill from there. I was wondering just the other day why that is such a common thing.... I'm watching Keizoku 2 right now and it's basically like a live-action anime...very uneven, hyperbolic characters, but then gets quite serious. I suppose Japanese TV feels they need lots of humor to reel in an audience in the beginning?

Death Note & Code Geass were my first approach to "mature" anime.
Hmmm...
For more mature audiences I surely recommend Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, the soooo surreal Paprika), Akira, Ghost in the Shell, The empire of corpses, etc.
When I think of "mature" anime, this much more fits my idea. Akira and Perfect Blue in particular are films I don't think the average teenage anime fan these days would even like, despite how influential they are. So much of what's out there seems very disposable and tropey to me. If you appreciate cinema first and then are looking for a way in to anime, starting with films by Kon and Otomo, real auteurs, is my recommendation.
 

MusicEd921

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Browsing this thread motivated me to just load up the Studio Ghibli hub on HBO Max and blindly dive into one. I opted to go with Castle in the Sky. I just finished it moments ago and am still processing what a great movie it was. The music at some points felt dated, but the overall adventure and neat imagery together with a simple, yet epic story made for a wonderful viewing experience. I still need to process and sleep on what I just took in, but I really enjoyed it and would love a recommendation of where to go to next. I feel like Spirited Away is such a well-regarded and highly talked about movie, so I’m not sure if I just go for the gold standard or check out something else before hitting that one up. Please, throw me a recommendation or two.

As for my anime background, I’ve watched all of Cowboy Bebop and loved that. I tried watching Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood and while I was into the story, I gave up after 13 or so episodes because when it got goofy, it felt too goofy for my liking which is a shame because the action and story were really intriguing. I saw Akira and Armitage III in the late 90’s on the Syfy channel and enjoyed them then, but not sure if I’d still like them now. Oh yeah, saw Porco Rosso, but found that kind of meh and I didn’t quite “get it”.
 

Mako

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Highly recommend Berserk (1997), Legend of the Galactic Heroes OVA and anything from Satoshi Kon.
 

addiesin

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I opted to go with Castle in the Sky. I just finished it moments ago and am still processing what a great movie it was.
...
Please, throw me a recommendation or two.

I still haven't seen that one but have the Blu-Ray so I'll get to it sooner now I guess. Thanks for the review!

I had a similar anime lite background before getting into Ghibli, and still do, really, but I've watched a lot of Ghibli. If you want something perfect for little kids but still good and charming enough for adults, go with My Neighbor Totoro. Ponyo is also really kid friendly, broadly like Little Mermaid meets Pinocchio.

If you want fantasy coming of age, Spirited Away is just as good as Howl's Moving Castle and in the same ballpark as Kiki's Delivery Service. Though most of them have some element of coming of age.

If you want or don't mind more environmentalist tones, Princess Mononoke is to my knowledge, the violent one, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is one of my favorites, it came out before Ghibli was called that and had chocobos a year before Final Fantasy existed (I have a theory Squaresoft stole a lot of ideas from Nausicaa to the point that I think of it as the Final Fantasy movie).

I think you can't go wrong, though I have not saught out the films based on real events, so I can't comment on those from experience. They sound very sad, be prepared to cry if you stumble into one accidentally.
 

mnkykungfu

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@MusicEd921 I think your tastes run pretty similar to mine based on what you've said here and in other threads. A barrier you'll have to a lot of Japanese animation is the clashing tones, which you noted as "goofiness" suddenly popping up. This is especially true with longer-running series, which play to a Japanese TV audience that expects this sort of thing. So, generally speaking, I think you're better off focusing on films or direct-to-video series ("OVA"s).
Memories-713923217-large.jpg

Some fine recommendations above, and really you'll probably like anything directed by Hayao Miyazaki from Nausicaa on. You'll probably like all Katsuhiro Otomo's work, some of which is included in some pretty cool anthologies like Memories.
Neo_Tokyo_Labyrinth_Tales-424348122-mmed.jpg


I'd also check out Neo Tokyo (above),

robot-carnival-banner1-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg
Robot Carnival (the posters don't do this animation justice),
screenshot005.jpg

Otaku no Video (a crash course in anime!),
the_animatrix_wallpaper_by_the_animatrix_club_dw3seo-fullview.jpg

and actually The Animatrix, which may have the most varied styles of animation between the different shorts.
There's not much goofiness among those, and anthologies are a great way to find new directors and studios that you want to check out more work from.
 
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Mako

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Another anime I highly recommend is Monster (2004), which is adapted from Naoki Urasawa’s manga series Monster. It’s 74 episodes long, but it has some of the best writing I’ve ever seen from an anime (especially with the villain), and one of the best out there (imo) when it comes to psychological/mystery thriller animes.

https://myanimelist.net/anime/19/Monster
 
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mnkykungfu

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^Personally, if I was just getting in to anime, a 37-hour recommendation would be a pretty intimidating commitment. Heck, I'm even cautious about taking on series now...if it doesn't grab me within the first few episodes, I'm out! I have heard Monster is very well-written though, so it's nice to hear another recommendation for it.
 

Malthus

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If anyone is after a fab short series I can not recommend Kino's Journey enough. Preferably the original series but the more recent one is fun too. The show is 13 episodes long and is the answer to the question "What would you get if you crossed "The Twilight Zone with Studio Ghibli". Spoiler alert the answer is a thought provoking series of 20 minute stand alone stories. Whimsical and low key dark at times it's a personal favourite of mine.
 

skyled

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I highly recommend the mecha show Gurren Lagann from 2007. It's completely over the top, ridiculous, hilarious, and somehow manages to have a big heart for its characters. When it reaches it's conclusion, it feels like the perfect send off, but you'll feel sorry that it had to end at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurren_Lagann
 

It'sOnRandom

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Just finished Erased which was recommended from a friend of mine. Definitely a great start to watching anime. Finished it all in a couple of hours, absolutely awesome story.
 

Racerx1969

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FYI, Cowboy Bebop full series blu ray is on Amazon's Prime Day sale right now. My copy will arrive later this week.
 

Jrzag42

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If you're into trippy stuff two I recommend, though they may be harder to find: Serial Experiments: LAIN and Boogiepop Phantom.
Yes! Someone posted a gif from Serial Experiments LAIN on Discord a few months ago, and since then I've been meaning to watch it, and then I just keep not getting around to it. Glad to see a proper recommendation for it, from someone who generally has good taste no less.
Since it's on my mind once more, I think I'll try to make an effort to start watching it tonite.
 

Racerx1969

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^Does it include the movie?
amazon.com/gp/product/B00NP06DJE
I don't think so. The image of the case back says 26 episodes + extras on 4 BD. For me this is a good deal--I've just watched the first disc (9 episodes) via my Netflix physical disc subscription--now I can pull the rest off my queue.
 
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