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Posted: May 07 2013 05:48 pm

A few weeks ago I purchased The Matrix Collection, and as much as I absolutely love the triligy, the standout for me is the Animatrix. I have always been facinated with anime but haven't have the opportunity to watch many anime films or shows. Now I have an enormous craving for it and was trying to decide where the best place to start would be. The only film I've seen is Ninja Scroll and I thought it was amazing.

So far I know I want to see Akria, Wicked City, Grave Of The Fireflies, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Other than that I'm not sure, and any advice would be most helpful. I was also wondering if there are english dubs of any of these movies and if they would be as good as the subtitled ones, because I've heard sometimes the english dubs can really kill the movie.

Posted: May 07 2013 06:06 pm

* See the original Vampire Hunter D before you see Bloodlust.
* Baccano! is recommended and its English dub is one of the few I think exceeds the quality of the original Japanese.
* Akira's overrated in my opinion.
* Neon Genesis Evangelion (both the 26 episode series and the Rebuild film quadrilogy which hasn't yet concluded, 3.0 came out on Blu-Ray last month in Japan)
* Spice and Wolf is fucking awesome despite the premise of a fantasy series about economics focusing on the adventures of a single merchant and an agricultural wolfgirl deity.
* Puella Magi Madoka Magica is the most mind-bending and awesome take on the "magical girl" trope (Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, Revolutionary Girl Utena to a degree) I've ever seen. I highly recommend watching it and even more highly caution you not to spoil yourself on its plot.
* The last series I'll mention is Rurouni Kenshin. If you look past the 90's art style at parts, it's a damn great series.

Beyond those, is there a particular story type you'd like to check? I mean there's over the top hot-blooded action in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, then there's some really freaky horror in Speed Grapher, One Piece is still being written and produced well over a decade since it began.

Posted: May 08 2013 12:16 am

Any Studio Ghibli movie is an obvious choice. You absolutely need to watch such films as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle In The Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, Whisper Of The Heart, The Secret World Of Arrietty, Ponyo, and Tales From Earthsea. If you like mature anime, you need to watch Tekkonkinkreet. And even though purists may not like it, the DBZ TV movie, Bardock: The Father Of Goku is a great film. You should watch the other DBZ movies, too. Oh, and the first four Pokémon movies are also great as are some of the one's after the first four, but the first four are the best, as is The Return Of Mewtwo or whatever it's called, which is a sequel to the first movie.

Posted: May 08 2013 02:33 am

Action and horror would both be great, perhaps even a mix of the two. The more mature the better in my opinion, but I'm not above watching any of the 'kiddie' stuff if it's entertaining. Also, I was wondering about the Cowboy Bebop movie, is it any good? I've heard great things about the show but was sure about the film.

Thanks for the suggestions, these will definitely get me started. Is there anywhere online I could purchase these? I was curious if there were any places that deal especially in anime.

Posted: May 08 2013 05:26 pm

Fuck Earthsea! It did terribly on both sides of the Pacific, it's pretty boring, the protagonist has this constant punchable face, and it's this weird amalgam of material from like seven books with most of the material being taken from the middle of the series. I will concede that Whisper of the Heart is my favorite Ghibli film. The only other "bad" Ghibli film I can think of is Pom Poko.

Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Trigun make up the Space-Western Anime trilogy and all bear watching (except for the recent Trigun movie, that left me a bit lacking). Watch the series before you watch the Cowboy bebop film.

If you like horror and action, I recommend Madoka Magika even more fervently. As well as Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales and its spin off Mononoke.

Older stuff I can think of includes Petshop of Horrors, Yu Yu Hakusho would probably be really up your alley for Horror and Action.

Posted: May 08 2013 05:59 pm

Well Tekkonkinkreet is definitely mature and actiony. I actually liked Earthsea, although I'm probably a little biased, as it is made by Hayao Miyazaki's son and Hayao Miyazaki is my favorite animator/director.

Posted: May 08 2013 06:14 pm

What are your opinions on Princess Mononoke? We bought it for my stepson, and I watched it and rather enjoyed it. But I was wondering where it stood in the hierarchy of anime, because with me being new to it maybe I only enjoyed because I have yet to see the best the genre has to offer. I thought it was interesting having all american actors though. Also I was curious about Ghost In The Shell, any opinions on that?

I also wanted to note that I found out Akira is going to be made into a live action movie here in the U.S. at some point, and probably would have ben released by now if the people working on it didn't keep hitting snags.

Posted: May 08 2013 06:42 pm

I have actually never seen Princess Mononoke, but I really want to. From what I hear, not only is it one of the best Ghibli films, but anime fans often call it one of the all time greatest anime films period. My favorite anime film has to be Spirited Away and it's also my favorite movie period. My Neighbor Totoro is probably my 2nd favorite.

Posted: May 08 2013 08:16 pm

I prey that the Live Action American-adapted Akira never sees the light of day.

Princess Mononoke is awesome to see, and its Disney dub is tolerable (bit of a sucker for Minnie Driver I'll admit). Most of the time I prefer Japanese with subtitles, though I concede that some people just can't tolerate having to split their attentions between reading and watching the action. Spirited Away is another good piece, hell it's what got anime Award attention.

Ghost in the Shell is a very loaded, high-concept franchise. The US version of the original 90's film was cut by 20 minutes or so and I'd honestly recommend just diving into Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex unless you have some sort of completionist urge. The dub's voice talent in GitS: SAC is awesome, especially with Crispin Freeman, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Richard Epcar (all seasoned VA pros).

Posted: May 08 2013 09:25 pm

I'm definitely gonna have to look into Spirited Away, I figure I got a good chance of finding that around here where I live. Not to big of a selection when it comes to anime around these parts...

What did you guys think of Animatrix?

Posted: May 09 2013 07:20 am

Princess Mononoke is the best anime movie i have ever seen. .
Better dont miss it, it is one of a kind.

Oh and you love the matrix trilogy?! The trilogy?!
I had a little stroke reading that.

Posted: May 09 2013 07:57 am

I. know, everyone hates the last two movies and I understand why, but I love everything Matrix. I never get tired of watching Neo kick the shit out of thousands of Smith's or the climatic battle between the two of them.

I got Princess Mononoke right here and I've only seen it once, so I'm gonna watch it again as soon as the kids get on the bus. Maybe it'll tide me over until I can go shopping for more anime.

Also, I was curious, has anyone seen Afro Samurai? I've heaard of it but have no idea if it's any good or not.

Posted: May 09 2013 11:15 am

Seen both movies, highly recommend them.

Also the Armitage movies.

Posted: May 09 2013 04:56 pm

I've done a little research and now I'm even more excited to see some of these movies! It suprised me how many of these were actually books before they were anime, and most of the shows only lasted one or two seasons despite being incredibly popular. Is that some kind of Japanese thing, maybe because they are flooded with so many ideas for shows?

Also, I see what you mean about Hayao Miyazaki, seems like all of his films have been amazing.

Posted: May 09 2013 05:33 pm

I dont think all of his movies are great. I primary like Princess Monoke because of its archaic and mythological nature.
Spirited Away was cute but not that great.

Plastic Little is also one of my favorites. Its a chliche sci fi movie with soft porn scenes.
It is originally drawn by Satoshi Urushihara, wich is famous for his exceptional art.
So its mostly good because of its visual aspects. It is also one of the movies like Akira and Ninja Scroll, that are 90's anime classics.

Posted: May 09 2013 07:31 pm

Ninja Scroll was the first anime I ever saw, and it freaked me the fuck out. I was completely unprepared for the level of violence as I hadn't seen that much in animation up to that point.

Posted: May 10 2013 12:48 pm

A couple of more "serious" anime series that I loved were Serial Experiments Lain and Boogiepop Phantom. Gankutsuo was awesome, too. Its a psychedelic retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Posted: May 11 2013 02:41 am

i'll_bite_your_ear wrote:

I dont think all of his movies are great. I primary like Princess Monoke because of its archaic and mythological nature.
Spirited Away was cute but not that great.

Posted: May 11 2013 04:36 pm

Okay, the kids are fucking gone! I've only got my one year old here with me so he he goes down for a nap I'm watching Princess Mononoke in complete peace, undisturbed.

Posted: May 11 2013 06:34 pm

Have fun.

Posted: May 12 2013 03:31 pm

Princess Mononoke was easily the best animated movie I've ever seen, and that's saying something because I've seen a lot of animation that was damn good. It was beautifully drawn and animated, I loved the world they created in that movie. Those little forest spirits were the shit!

For my next movie I want to switch gears a bit and go with something that's crazy and more violent. I was thinking of going with Neon Genesis Evangelion, and after completeling that then going to Spirited Away. Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I plan on watching every one of these I can find. I'm excited to have something new that I really enjoy, it's nice to know you can still be surprised sometimes!

Posted: May 14 2013 11:39 am

MIND GAME
Awesome movie. Studio 4ºC. Adult-oriented. No childish crap. Serious bussiness

Posted: May 14 2013 11:44 am

I remember another piece of animation: It's called Aachi & Ssipak, but I don't know if it counts as anime, because is not from Japan. It's from Korea, and it's more fucked up that Mind Game. Very, very fucked up

Posted: May 14 2013 04:56 pm

Isn't that the same studio that did Animatrix? If so I gotta get that asap.

Posted: May 14 2013 10:30 pm

Perfect Blue
Fist of the North Star
Project A-Ko
Patlabor 1 and 2
5 Centimeters Per Second
Paprika
Metropolis
Memories
Berserk
Claymmore
Basilisk
Devilman
Violence Jack