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First of all I would like to say that 'Anime' means Animation in Japan. And that the word 'Anime' could be interpreted as animation made in Japan and not as a Genre by itself. (Like for example when people refer to flash as a synonym for animation when it's a medium/technique.)

Anyway. I've noticed that alot of people have the wrong idea of anime mostly due of children series like pokemon or beyblade. But I think that there is alot of great material worth watching. So I'm making a post about it.

Here is a list of some of the anime I think is worth watching. Comments and opinions are welcome. If there are titles that you recommend please share.

Tekkonkinkreet From Director Michael Arias & Studio 4°C. They worked on the Animatrix as well.

Paprika Surreal animation that shows us how we can visually and auditive manipulate the scenario of the characters.

Mind Game They use different kinds of graphics that mix very well in the context where they are used.

Akira A classic that was groundbreaking for its time. And still is in my opinion.

Princess Mononoke From Myiazaki (Studio Ghibli)

Man & Whale From Koji Yamamura. Made for Greenpeace. I actually wanted to show 'Mt. head' which is a masterpiece and is shown at alot of festivals, but I couldn't find it on youtub.

Memories: 3 great short stories that are shown as one in 'Memories' The trailer was very appealing to me because of the 90's vibe in the way of the montage and music choice.

Well, that's it for now. Till next time.

Julio

Updated: 12/15/08 4:16 PM Log in to comment! | Share this!

The People Have Spoken

46 Comments

Dec. 15, 2008 | 3:34 PM Flee says:

Great list. I suggest Akira and FLCL.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 3:42 PM tyokio says:

I too suggest Akira and FLCL...also Steamboy.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 3:44 PM Fierras responds:

Yeah Steamboy is also a good one. Have it on DVD. one of the lead animators worked on Tekkonkinkreet as well btw.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 3:43 PM rougefire says:

deathnote's popular, and pretty good

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:01 PM JakBaronKing says:

Meh...a bit too sci-fi for me...but I do love all Ghibli Films.

Did you know Lilo and Stitch is now an anime? Wierd but charming.
See earlier posts for embeded episode 1

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:13 PM Fierras responds:

Wow, I just saw your post. The changes were really unnecessary.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:12 PM EddyDTheDuck says:

All Ghilbi is good, and is definately worth at least watching, even if you don't like Anime generally.

But I also love the stuff aimed at older teens such as Bleach and Naruto :-D
They just get better and better :-P

I never watched Ghost In The Shell, but i'm gonna watch the original movie sometime soon.

I know this is a little off-topic, but i love manga too, perhaps more than Anime.
There's manga books based on the Zelda games now, which i found to be a really stupid idea. They are very entertaining though, especially if you've played the games.

Anyways, Anime=Good.
Manga=Good.
Anime/Manga-haters-for-no-reason=Bad

I've rambled on :-P

Ah well.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:20 PM Fierras responds:

I agree. Miyazaki's animations are definatly worth watching. You also see his evolution very well that way. And there are things that are reused in some animations which makes it look like everything happens in some other reality.

Updated: Dec. 15, 2008, 4:20 PM

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:13 PM nathanielmilburn says:

The first two you mentioned are fantastic films, 2 of my favs. I still haven't gotten around to seeing the others, but I've been wanting too.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:14 PM Tspizz says:

I would suggest Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann to anybody who likes a good action-y anime. Been meaning to wacth FLCL.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:19 PM shadow-king94 says:

akira was amazing! i freakin love that movie

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:28 PM LeafLock says:

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is epic, but only if u get it subbed. the english dubs are UNBEARABLE. Hellsing is pretty sick too. And Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the best anime ever, period.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:28 PM MrPantz says:

Akira and Princess Mononoke are two of some of my favorite films!! Ironically though I tend to not like much other anime films, beside others made by Miyazaki- he's an artistic genius

Dec. 15, 2008 | 4:53 PM JACK-IN-THE-DARK says:

Any anime who don't have a girl who dress like a whore or a gay kid who saves the world is a good anime. If i wanna see some girl dress like a slut i gonna see some porn, they don't even show the nipples in a anime and also fuck up all the cartoon.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 5:05 PM HolyPeanuts says:

Mind Game is probably one of my favorite movies ever.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 5:14 PM Ying-yong says:

It might be just me, but I didn't like Tekkonkrete as much as I probably should have. Something about those character designs turned me off a little.

Paprika was excellent, and anything Ghibli touches is astounding. Have you seen "Only Yesterday?" (Omohid Poro Poro)

Dec. 15, 2008 | 5:15 PM Psi43 says:

Rozen Maiden.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 5:29 PM MindChamber says:

I've loved all of these, alot of stuff have influenced alot of known NG animators. Its very influenced throughout NG.. My gripe is the pace and storytelling in alot of these. Ive watched the Tekkon one many times untill I watched it in english. The story telling and pacing is simply painfull. Even though the director was american his heavy influenced style of storytelling killed an awesome cartoon IMO.. Compare that to the short Studio 4°C Did for the Dark Knight animated DVD,and you can see what happens when a well told, well paced story is in the hands of brilliant animators.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 7:01 PM Fierras responds:

The opinions on Tekkon seem to be devided. Something bothered me as well in the beginning, but the more I watched it, the more I started liking it. The graphical part of the animation made up for alot of things. But I did like how the animation's visualisation of some scenes was identical to the manga. If you put the shots in the anime next to the 'black & white' manga, you'l see that they are exactly the same. The extra dimension added by sound & 3d camera movement was a good example of the transition from manga to anime. I added a link to one of the examples used in a presentation I gave about the subject.

http://img01.imagecanon.com/_uplo ad/img/1/Untitled-1.jpg

Studio 4°C is amazing. I found it interesting how the dark knight animated dvd was a compilation of stories describing batman, and in studio 4°C's animation there were also 4 small stories about how Batman was.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 5:36 PM Kyaztro says:

I don't think any anime is worth watching, except for pokemon and beyblade, those
shows were pimp

Dec. 15, 2008 | 6:24 PM ak-phantom says:

Honestly out of your list i have only seen Akira, which is a pretty good anime but one of my favorites has to be Ninja Scroll (movie not series), the recentish Vampire Hunter D bloodlust isnt bad and Highlander search for vengance is pretty good too. I'm not up on my animators but they are all animated pretty similar.
Also one i really like but i know not a lot of others do is MD Geist.
Just thought id share.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 6:26 PM liable-to-explode says:

Everyone will hate me for this, but DBZ has some really good animation.
Of course, it also has some terrible animation.
And I, like everyone else, like all the Myiazaki movies.
One of my favorites is Castle in the Sky.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 6:33 PM CaptinChu says:

I haven't seen some of these. Thanks for referring them!

Dec. 15, 2008 | 6:36 PM Kinsei01 says:

in my opinion, you'll find the best Anime out side the mainstream.
I mean sure if you want actuion and stuff go for Jump comics and what they produce.
but honestly some of the best gems are the ones who are underadvertized and unexploited.
some try dodging the 30 minute shows and go for some of the movies like has been posted here, it might show them a new light to anime

Dec. 15, 2008 | 6:48 PM InuBlade360 says:

Ahaha, there are so many I could list. But I'll just offer up this one: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 6:58 PM PickleJewz says:

If you like FLCL, Try Dokuro-Chan. I beleive it's made by the same people.
And i agree with Inu, Higurashi is the shit.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 7:25 PM Eammy says:

WHAT ABOUT GHOST IN THE SHELL ?! I really like the method of storytelling and animation in that one... Especially the two movies (2nd one is the best). The TV series is also QUITE good, though has nothing to do with the original storyline >:(

Dec. 15, 2008 | 7:34 PM Quidoo says:

That was a pretty good list. I haven't seen Akira though, i'll try and find it online somewhere...

I would suggest Neon Genesis: Evangelion.
It's a short series but the story and the messages that are conveyed are just incredible. The ending was hard to understand but I appreciated it a heck of a lot after I fully got my head around it...

Dec. 15, 2008 | 7:46 PM Ertyguy says:

I've seen and loved both Princess mononoke and Paprika.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 8:17 PM Constipation says:

Elfen Lied

It is a very mature anime, it has a -lot- of nudity but is by no means a hentai.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 9:26 PM J4mi3008 says:

It can also be refered to Japanimation, "weeeeird", anyway, I've never really heard of any of these, I'll just stick to my love of Dragonball :D

Dec. 15, 2008 | 10:06 PM SpedsonaPlane says:

You should probably ass everything else satoshi kon worked on there. As for anime, seires wise, Kino's journey, and the allmight Big O. Movie wise, Read or die (just plain fun in my opinion), and Metropolis (a real forgotten gem). you do have a good list going on there.

and before I forget THE ANIMATRIX!

Dec. 15, 2008 | 10:08 PM wasb says:

You know, I wouldn't mind Japanese animation as much if they knew a lick about character design! Their characters always look ugly, they seem to melt all over the screen if they have any more lines then a silhouette would have and don't get me started on their pallets, the skin of their character make me want to look away... I suppose their animation could also use some work too all the characters are stiff and, well, unanimated.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 10:55 PM Razorshardz says:

No Lucky Star? D:

Dec. 15, 2008 | 11:10 PM Skenvo says:

Yah gotta agree witcha there Akira and Princess Mononoke are sweet. The animation is just really detailed.

Dec. 15, 2008 | 11:15 PM Black-Crystal says:

For anime movies, Appleseed, The girl who lept through time and Evangelion you are not alone. These are just some of my favorites.

Dec. 16, 2008 | 12:37 AM mrpibbs1 says:

Akira is awesome. I really wanna see Paprika and Tekkonkinkreet. Maybe Mind Game also

Dec. 16, 2008 | 12:44 AM greamer22 says:

cowboy bebop is underated

Dec. 16, 2008 | 7:16 AM Fierras responds:

I was actually thinking about making another post about it next time. Cowboy Bebop is great.

Dec. 16, 2008 | 12:54 AM sharkwiz says:

im pretty much a normal anime watcher so i have thee pretty common ones in mind for example bleach,naruto(slightly overated),d gray man,vampire knight

Dec. 16, 2008 | 3:18 AM Sekhem says:

no mention of nausicaa? what is wrong with you

Dec. 16, 2008 | 4:19 AM KnightofGuthix says:

Excellent choices in anime, though i would have added a few more.. Like Ghost In The Shell (The movie not the series) and most DEFINATELY Samurai X! I dare say that movie is probably one of the best i've ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes upon.

If you've not seen it, i highly suggest you do as soon as possible.

I could also suggest Escaflowne, that was a great movie aswell. Of course it's been said before i am sure, but anything from Myiazaki is instantly a must see ^_^

Dec. 16, 2008 | 6:09 AM BoonChild says:

Porco Rosso needs to be up there lol.
should put up the scene where they are boxing cuz their planes didnt work :P

Dec. 16, 2008 | 6:09 AM xxxPeanutxxx says:

Can't believe none of you mentioned GTO. Great Teacher Onizuka, it isn't fantasy, it isn't Sci-Fi, but both the Manga and the Anime are amazing, you should give them a chance.

Golden Boy - Not what you expect when you watch it, but sneaks up on you and suprises you by how good it is and after the last ep (only about 6) it makes you wish there were a lot more.

My Hime/Mai Hime and My Otome are also great. 2nd one is kind of a sequel in the same way Fierce Creatures is a sequel to A Fish Called Wanda, same actors/characters but different story. Sci-Fi with a great story.

Bleach/Naruto, you need to watch from the beginning and watch at least 70 eps of each, only then do they really come into their own. Once you get into the story of each, it sucks you in, Naruto got me hooked in the water country arc, and Bleach when they went to Soul Society.

Samurai Champloo is pretty good. Rozen Maiden (as mentioned) is also good. Full Metal Alchemist is really good. Full Metal Panic is also great, specially the humour.

So many hidden gems, If I had to give 1 recommendation it would be GTO. It's not a masterpiece visually, it's not an epic battle, but the underlying story is Fantastic!

Dec. 16, 2008 | 8:43 AM Vert says:

Cowboy Bebop is, of course, just absolutly amazing (and has already been sugested), figuring among the very best pieces of animation I've ever seen (but then again, I'm a jazz nut, so...) but have you ever seen Death Note or Darker than Black? Both are pretty good too (Death Note, the first half, is excellent). Also: Spirited Away / Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi.

Dec. 16, 2008 | 9:26 AM S-K says:

Paprika was cool until the ending *avoids spoilers* then it just goes insain abstract like a famous painting no-one knows the real meaning of or something.

Princess Mononoke is a fave of mine also, it shows best why people call him the "walt disney" of the East. But what's the deal with that Akira trailer? There was at least 3 different english dubs in there x.x

Dec. 16, 2008 | 10:56 AM bladius1 says:

I Would suggest Hayate the combat butler, It's awesome and I believe it's now an anime so =D.
Hayate: why dont i get any presents santa?
Santa: because your poor thats why!
LOL

Dec. 16, 2008 | 11:17 AM MrShadowW says:

I suggest Neon Genesis Evangelion, Full Metal Alchemist, Aika and Solty Rei.

Dec. 16, 2008 | 11:19 AM Haseo14 says:

all worth watching but paprika confused me a bit
and i suggest some of the older animes like gundam and zoids as well as code geass ,gurenn lagann, when they cry (confusing but funny) chobits and the ova's for tales of symphonia most of these can be found on youtube or veoh
now for actual movies i'd have to say G.U. Trilogy since you already posted some Ghibli films

Jan. 3, 2009 | 12:15 AM Fierras responds:

I didn't enjoy gurenn lagann at first. But it was pretty good after a couple of eps.

Dec. 16, 2008 | 11:59 AM HalcyonicFalconX says:

Have you ever watched Hoshi no Koe (english released as "Voices of a Distant Star")?
I think it's a really wonderful OVA that's beautiful in story, animation, and soundtrack.