Anime Rec list: DOs and DON'Ts

[timepiececlock]

For psychodragon82, whom I have recently gotten addicted to the evil evil world of anime. Welcome, dearie.

This is a list of ones that I am familiar with, but not all that's out there by far. There's others that I know of and can offer a less-accurate opinion on, but haven't watched much of.

Most (read: nearly all) anime series are based on manga, or japanese comics.

* = indicates that series is available in translated versions that I know of. I'm hardly the expert on this, and haven't been manga-shopping in a long time.

(CN) = indicates currently playing on the Cartoon Network

OAV = original anime video (straight to video release)


The Excellent
(These are shows you should absolutely watch)
1. Full Metal Alchemist (2 seasons)
2. The Vision of Escaflowne (or just Escaflowne, 1 season)
3. Fruits Basket
4. Trigun (CN, 1 season)
5. Cowboy Bebop (CN, 1 season) + movie (in theaters here now)
6. Neon Genesis Evangelion* (weird. Good, and sometimes dramatic to a shocking degree that leaves me huddled on the floor going "No, No, NO!", but weird. 1 season)
7. Macross Plus (4 episode short series, also available in an edited movie form. Excellent on all levels)
8.Blue Submarine No. 6 (4 episode short series, also available in an edited movie form. Slightly strange, but intriguing and well-made)
9. Naruto (many seasons)
10. Monster (70 episodes)

The Good
(These are shows that you'll probably enjoy, and are worth watching though not quite as good as the ones above)
1. Gundam Wing* (used to play on CN; has some manga out but most of it except the follow-ups is bad. I love this show and don't even notice its flaws. 2 seasons)
2. Ranma 1/2* (funny and absurd and cute and clever and way too complicated to explain. The manga's great and the anime is good; they are very closely made. 5 seasons)
3. Inu Yasha* (CN, manga version is better but anime is best the further it goes; they are very closely made. Same creator as Ranma 1/2, but a much different story. 3 seasons + more new still running in japan)
4. Fushigi Yuugi/ "The Mysterious Play"* (Has one of my favorite anime characters ever in this show. 2 seasons, several extra episodes post-series)
5. Blue Seed (1 season, good start, mediocre early-middle, really picks up in the second half, killer conclusion. I'd read the mang of this if I could find it.)
6. Big O (strange, and rather Batman-like, but entertaining. used to play on CN. less than a full season)
7. Digimon (3 seasons, only watched some of it when I couldn't find anythign else. Not bad for kids show, better than Pokemon, likely uninteresting to adults)
8. Gundam: 8th MS Team (13 episodes, very well written characters, Alternate Universe to Gundam Wing.)
9. Outlaw Star (1 season, used to play on CN. The cheap knock-off of Cowboy Bebop, but nonetheless entertaining enough that I tuned in to see the whole show.)

The Mediocre
(These are shows that are not that great on the whole, but have some redeeming features and I went through phases of kind of liking them for whatever reason)
1. Sailor Moon* (used to play on CN, 5 seasons but only 4 available in English. This started me on anime, was more interesting when I was 14 than it is now)
2. Dragon Ball Z* (I went through a phase. I still find it mildly entertaining, mostly for only 2 characters I love, but I have to admit as overall quality goes, it has problems like 6 seasons or something, not sure, several movies most of which are bad)
3. Ruroni Kenshin (CN, some people will place this very high. I saw one episode and wasn't thrilled at all. Multiple seasons+ prequel OAV)
4. Yu Yu Hakashu* (CN, the art is terrible and the storyline uninteresting and sometimes outright stupid, but some people really like it. ?seasons?)
5. Ayashi No Ceres* (same creator as Fushigi Yuugi. Too convoluted for me, but some good spots. 1 season, I think)
6. Revolutionary Princess Utena (convoluted and many times stupid, but then some people do like it, 2 seasons, I think)

The BAD
(These are shows that suck. In my opinion.)
1. Tenshi Muyo.
2. Pokemon.
3. Yu-Gi-Oh




Anime Movies/ Films
1. Escaflowne movie- SUCKED. Horrible. Run, run far far away.
2. X - SUCKED worse. Very pretty, but otherwise I can't believe I wasted an hour of my life on it.
3. Metropolis - kind of slow, and weird character designs, but the most beautiful cityscapes and environment desings I've ever seen in animation.
4. Spirited Away - The best animated movie ever made. Disney wishes it could make movies like this.
5. Princess Mononoke - Almost as good as above. Beautifully animated, very mature storyline, set about 1000+ years ago.
6. Millenium Actress
7. Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade
8. My Neighbor Totoro - Cute. Most interesting if you're young, but cute.
9. Perfect Blue - dark and creepy. I didn't like watching it, and it was reaching in some parts, but it was good.
10. Ranma 1/2 movies 1 & 2 - funny as hell, but only make sense if you've watched/read some of the series.
11. Cowboy Bebop movie - really cool. Great script, well acted. Makes more sense if you've seen at least 2/3 of the tv series. in theaters now.
12. Sailor Moon movies 1,2,3 - Pretty good. If you like the show. If you don't, you won't care



This list is subject to change. If anyone has any factual information they want to correct me on (like manga), go for it. Otherwise, it's all my opinion.

Yes, I hate Tenshi with the flames of a thousand burning suns. It's the most moronic thing I've ever seen.