Anime: So whats good out there?

[Marco]

I've been trying to find a new series to pick up, but I'm not really in tune with the anime going-ons.  Here are the current series I watch:

Naruto - picked it up a couple years ago.  My favorite series, and the only show whose manga I read.  I love this series because something interesting happens every single chapter.  I mean literally, every single one.  I don't remember a time when I started when I read a chapter and not been anxious to see the next one.

Death Note - finished this, excellent series.  Sometimes hard to follow and you can really miss important things if you aren't paying attention, but overall a very suspenseful series that just recently concluded.

Shijou Saikyou no Kenichi - my most recent addition to my lineup.  It is a comedy and is funny at times and pokes fun at a lot of anime stereotypes.  The Japanese have a different sense of humor then the rest of the world, so I find it difficult to recommend a comedy because sometimes that isn't what you will get.  Mostly about fighting.  Starts off a bit corny but it grows on you quickly.

Bleach - ugh.  Lately it seems like I watch this just out of habit.  The series definitely has a lot of dull and boring moments where you just don't really care what is happening.  And the moments where something does happen, it usually isn't that compelling or dramatic.  I liked it during the Soul Society arc, but now it seems like they are just doing the same thing over again.  Tried reading the manga - its just slow and dull.  Makes me really respect the author of the Naruto manga.

That's pretty much it.  My past anime interests have been limited and only include Space Battleship Yamato (where Desler is based on) and The Irresponsible Captain Tylor.  I've tried a few series here and there.  I gave One Piece a try but turned it off before the first episode was over.  I dunno, maybe I would of liked it, but after seeing that main character guy act like a retard (and not in the charming way, unlike Captain Tylor), I shut it off.

Any suggestions?

[Milldawg]

I haven't seen Kenichi, but I've seen the others and I pretty much agree.  Naruto is awesome if you can get past the annoying childishness, Bleach was awesome during the Soul Society arc but then kind of fell apart (though the current arc is actually pretty good now that the filler is over), and Death Note was just a tightly wrapped bundle of ownage.  May I suggest Basilisk (aka Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls = Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou)?  It's basically Romeo and Juliet, but with ninjas.  And it is not for kids.

[Lavarinth]

Damn, I was going to say.. "Death Note was linked to my by Hercanic" but you got it. I'll ask the girl I'm dating, she's completely into anime.

[RazorclawX]

I've only been watching Bleach on Adult Swim, and the occasional movie on Ani-Monday.

I haven't actively sought out fansubs for over five years; there's like no need to. The only anime in the last five years I actually liked (as in, pay good money for) was Ghost in the Shell.

The Highlander movie they showed on Ani-Monday a few weeks ago wasn't too bad; it was at least somewhat novel for Highlander even if it wasn't that great.

[Marco]

Not sure as to the legality of it, but there is a big site of fansubs on www.narutofan.com which gives you quick access to dozens of series for like 5$ a month.  And of course, there is always bittorrent.

Kenichi is 43 episodes so far, so its still relatively new per se.  I don't know if its getting popular or what, I just kind of stumbled on it myself.  And one episode surprised me completely because they had one of the characters doing a parody of Desler from Space Battleship Yamato - wearing the same clothes and acting the same way for a short period.  Guess that really sealed it for me.

[Mucky]

I'm pretty sure charging money for fansubs is illegal. Besides, you can go to www.animesuki.com for free fansubs. They're pretty strict on licensed material, so obviously there won't be Naruto and the like.

Speaking of Naruto, I couldn't stand the anime after getting up to episode 140 or so. It was filler after filler, and I decided to just read the manga as soon as I saw this one episode with some random kid saying "sorry, I have no concept of emotion!" Duuude, this no-emotion bullshit has been done so many times already.

As for Bleach, I assume you're in the Bount arc, which would explain why you find it dull and boring. Do yourself a favor and skip to episode 110. You won't miss anything.

Try out Yakitake!! Japan. It's about a dude who seeks to create a bread that would best represent Japan, and the general theme is baking. What really makes the anime, however, are the hilarious puns and awkward situations that poke fun at its own genre.

[wibod]

Lucky Star.


Checking out Haruhi and Bokurano is highly recommended.

[RazorclawX]

Dude, you're not supposed to pay anything for fansubs other than the cost of the tape and shipping. Since that's no longer a factor it shouldn't cost anything. Especially with people resorting to bittorrent to weasel out of the bandwidth.

[WB]

Ghost in the Shell, both seasons, watch them now.

[Marco]

Well, in a way you aren't really paying for the fansub, just the bandwidth to download it.  But NarutoFans practices are somewhat oontroversial, so I won't go into defending them - just pointing out a resource is all.

Actually, I'm all the way caught up with Bleach.  The Bounto fillers were somewhat entertaining, definitely better then the Naruto fillers.  I don't expect much from fillers to be honest, so I don't hold them against a series.  If I did that, Naruto would be dead to me already.  It's just that Bleach has gotten repetitive.  Hero beats random bad guys, big bad guy comes, hero gets defeated, hero trains, hero defeats big bad guy, repeat.  Ichigo is a boring character to follow as well.  And the rest of the bunch don't really inspire me to watch either. 

It is safe to watch Naruto again by the way, the fillers have long since been over and the jump to 3 years later has been made.  I think they are up to episode 24 on the new series.

I would have love to have written a filler arc for Naruto or Bleach.  At least Bleach tried with one big story, but the mini-stories with Naruto almost reminded me of old episodes of Pokemon - just repetitive, nonsensical, and no lasting repercussions for any of the characters.  If you know you are going to have 100 episodes to work with, write a damn epic for crying out loud.  Such a waste, sigh.

[Lavarinth]

Ghost in the Shell, both seasons, watch them now.

Isn't this almost standard for anyone to watch? Not to say I have..

[Zilla-]

Vandread, one of the best animes i have ever seen, I finished watching it yesterday and spent the next 8 hours smiling because the end was so good.

Samurai Champloo, Pretty sweet I'm not a fan of hiphop in general but it goes very well with the theme, its got a zen like feel to it at times and has really nice fight sequences.

Cowboy Bebop, a classic.

Fushigi Yuugi: The Mysterious Play, primarily a love story with action and comedy bits, has some of the most memorable characters I've yet to meet.

Full-metal alchemist, although I'm about half way through it I'm still iffy on it, the story is pretty good and the characters are well developed but the main characters are kids, that annoys me to no end, but its pretty good.

Deathnote, its deathnote no more needs to be said.

Lucky star, it will push your face through your skull, it is. I am unsure how to describe it.

Hellsing, a pretty awesome action dealie, Alucard is pimp.

I can't think of others at the moment but I'll get back to this later.

[Grandma]

Cowboy Bebop, a classic.

Full-metal alchemist, although I'm about half way through it I'm still iffy on it, the story is pretty good and the characters are well developed but the main characters are kids, that annoys me to no end, but its pretty good.

I'm not a big anime fan (actually not a fan at all), but those two are great.

I really liked Outlaw Star and FLCL like a madman though.

[Whiplash!]

I head Dragonball Z is good!

[Marco]

Ah, forgot to mention Cowboy Bebop, excellent series.  Haven't seen it in so long and it was short but sweet, just like Death Note.