Just discovered that I love Anime. Now I want MOAR!

[ShinyCharizard]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I've got a good list to check out now.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

...REALLY hard to get a bead on what you'd like with a sample pool of one. The thing is that Anime isn't so much a genre as it is a medium. Within it you can find Psychological Thrillers like Monster, Science Fantasy works like Fullmetal Alchemist[footnote]Word of warning here, FMA has two series, the first of which diverged from the manga when it became clear that they were ready to overtake what was then-released for it. The second series (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) is ultimately MUCH more faithful to the source material, but tends to skim the early episodes, which cover the same material the first series did before it overtook the manga. Both are very highly regarded and worth a gander, but my personal preference is for Brotherhood[/footnote], loose adaptations like Samurai 7 (VERY loose in this case. I might be wrong, but I don't think that Kurasawa's Seven Samurai film had sci-fi elements like mecha in it), there are more slice of life comedies like Ouran High School Host Club[footnote]No link included for Ouran due to the sheer impossibility of describing it without running into a fun spoiler which later becomes a defining feature[/footnote], or things like Baccano! which...well, I honestly can't decide what genre is its main one in that case. And then, of course, there is Studio Ghibli, which is basically to anime what Pixar is to CGI...

You're right that it is hard to suggest what to watch without any preferences. But I wanna try out everything the medium has to offer. Also thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Fullmetal Alchemist, which is loosely adapted from the original manga and diverges off into an original story, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which faithfully adapts the original manga.

 

[Rylingo]

- snip -

I agree with necromanzer when it comes to critics. JesuOtaku is a pretty good guide. Definitely one of the better anime reviewers out there.

As for animes I'd have to advise Baccano! Best anime I've seen.

 

[SecondPrize]

I'll emphatically second guy's movie listed that started with Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll. As far as series go, some great comedies not mentioned are Azumanga Daioh, Cromartie High School and Ranma 1/2.

 

[Ryank1908]

I'm not a fan of anime. At all. I never really have been. (I'm not intending to be a douchebag here, stay with me)

Imagine my surprise when a friend showed me the trailer for Gurren Lagann and I immediately just felt like I had to watch it. So I borrowed a copy, and I watched it all in about a day. It's now one of my favourite series of anything of all time.

The action is gratifying and intense, the characters diverse and engaging, the storyline... fairly typical, but grand and effective in its execution, but the stand-out part of Gurren Lagann, for me, are the visuals. Everything's so expressive and crisp, ESPECIALLY in the final episodes when everything hits the fan. The colourization is just absolutely beautiful, and nearly everything about it solidifies its position as not just a great anime, but a great example of any show.

I'd stick a link on this post to show you what I mean but, honestly, you deserve to see it all through for the first time with no spoilers.

 

[sextus the crazy]

- snip -

I agree with necromanzer when it comes to critics. JesuOtaku is a pretty good guide. Definitely one of the better anime reviewers out there.

As for animes I'd have to advise Baccano! Best anime I've seen.

Seconded for both statements. Also, Arkada and the rest of the Desu Des Brigade were good reviewers.

Also, check out anime news network. It's great reference.

 

[Dethenger]

Black Lagoon
Great Teacher Onizuka
Spice and Wolf
Eden of the East
GunXSword
Rurouni Kenshin
Hajime no Ippo
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Touch

These cover a lot of ground, and odds are you won't like all of them, so I'd recommend either just watching the first episode of each, or, to save on time, reading a plot summary of each, and going from there.

 

[zzkill]

I would say Code Geass, Tears to Tiara, maybe Accel World (I prefer the manga), Zero no Tsukaima, Persona 4 The Animation(the PS2 game seems better, the anime is a bit rushed), Infinite Stratos, Seiken no Blacksmith, Chrome Shelled Regios and you can also try Ao no Exorcist.

My advice is to look at myanimelist.net. It has a page for every anime, manga and light novel, most with reviews and recommendations. These recommendations can be a good source of new material, but not a guaranteed like simply because of personal taste, as they are suggested by other users. Welcome to the otaku life

 

[Slakt]

Jin-roh: the wolf brigade. Why nobody has mentioned it before?

 

[Milanezi]

A lot of people said it, but there's not enough room in the galaxy to reinforce this idea: AKIRA, watch the anime and read the manga. I'm not too big into either manga nor anime, but Akira is just... BEYOND.
Also, Ghost in the Shell, both series and movie were great.

If you want to try some more japanese culture, do check it out every Akira Kurosawa movie, especially Seven Samurai, Ran and... there's one with Richard Geare, it`s pretty good.
There's also Samurai I, II & III (not by Kurosawa), they tell the story of Japan`s famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi, and obviously, the novel (based on his life) that served as inspiration for the trilogy: Musashi (by Eiji Yoshikawa).

 

[Rylingo]

Seconded for both statements. Also, Arkada and the rest of the Desu Des Brigade were good reviewers.

Also, check out anime news network. It's great reference.

Cool, I'll check those out. I do some anime reviews myself on my youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6F3HMUQW0Oq4P5RXDChEyWPMM3SlcUCh

I've recently been watching a few of gigguk's videos and he's definitely a good reviewer. Wish my videos were as good as his!

 

[madarrao]

id say Accel World since its by the same writer as Sword Art Online

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

- snip -

I agree with necromanzer when it comes to critics. JesuOtaku is a pretty good guide. Definitely one of the better anime reviewers out there.

As for animes I'd have to advise Baccano! Best anime I've seen.

Seconded for both statements. Also, Arkada and the rest of the Desu Des Brigade were good reviewers.

Also, check out anime news network. It's great reference.

It was too bad about the D2 Brigade, they made a good group of people. Their reviews were getting better and better, too, especially Vixen, she was just hitting her stride. That was the first online community I ever joined, but I didn't go back much after they split up. Still makes me sad sometimes.

But yeah, any review by JesuOtaku or Arkada are good, pretty spoiler-free places to start deciding what anime to watch.

 

[Plasmadamage]

I can wholeheartedly recommend Gintama, as it is probably the funniest series of anything that I have ever seen.

Best of all, because there is is no overriding plot arc, it is possible to start at almost any point without ruining the story.

I recommend watching the 1st episode (its a 1 hour special which introduces the characters and setting) and then whatch them in whatever order you feel like. If you find a few that you don't like, then feel free to skip them

In case you are interested, here are the links to the 1st episode, and a few of my favourites:

1st episode:
http://www.crunchyroll.co.uk/gintama/episode-1-you-guys-do-you-even-have-a-gintama-part-1-510074

Video Game Arc:
http://www.crunchyroll.co.uk/gintama/episode-98-play-video-games-for-only-an-hour-a-day-510258
http://www.crunchyroll.co.uk/gintama/episode-99-life-and-video-games-are-full-of-bugs-510260

Hot Spring Arc:
http://www.crunchyroll.co.uk/gintama/episode-131-fights-often-ensue-during-trips-516240
+ The next 3 episodes

Enjoy!


"You think we won't do it? Don't you realise how stupid we are? Don't underestimate us!"

 

[natster43]

A lot of these have been said but whatevs.
Elfen Lied
Baccano!
Durarara!!
.hack//Sign
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Persona 4 The Animation
Code Geass
Madoka Magica
Lucky Star
Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Clannad and Clannad After Story
Cowboy Bebop
Evangelion
MS Gundam 0080 War in the Pocket
pretty much any other Gundam Series
Darker Than Black
Steins Gate
Mirai Nikki
any movie by Studio Ghibli

While not technically an anime, Asura's Wrath is pretty much an anime in video game form, and it is totally awesome if you can get it for cheap and a points card for whatever system you are playing it on.

 

[chetoos]

I've only watched a couple of Anime, but I do have some to suggest.
Firstly, as has been suggested quite a bit in this thread, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. I watched the original series, but I didn't like it as much. For one, the voices weren't as good, and the story just seemed odder, which may be good for you, but it wasn't for me. Also, there are a few characters in FMA:B that weren't in the original which were so amazing. Watch both if you want, but if you only want to watch one, go for FMA:B. It's set in a world where alchemy exists, and the main characters lost their mother and tried to bring her back, which leads to the events of the series.
As has been suggested once, Nichijou: It is an anime about a school, and I have no idea what's going on in it. There's a goat, there was a girl who tried to get a hotdog, and it was the most intense scene I've ever watched. I only watched one episode, but there didn't seem to be any semblance of a story. Good luck.
And something that hasn't been suggested yet that I'm honestly surprised at: Sgt. Frog: Basically, incompetent frogs try to invade earth to take it over, and they are all different versions of Gir. Throw a few idiot humans into the mix, and you've got the recipe for an incredible anime.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Have a few dinks, watch Strike Witches.

In 25 words or less, describe what the hell you just watched.


(in the difficult version of this challenge you don't get to drink)

 

[wottabout]

I haven't seen Sword Art Online, but a person who recommended it to me also recommended Steins;Gate and Fate/Zero, both of which are amazing. The first season of Steins;Gate is on Hulu. Both seasons of Fate/Zero are on Hulu and Crunchy Roll. Fate/Zero's ending is a bit less meaningful if you haven't seen Fate/Stay Night, but the show is still very enjoyable.

Several other people have mentioned Baccano!, and it's my favorite show and you should watch it! The dub is fantastic, so you should watch the dub. It's on Hulu.