Recommend anime.

[NerfedFalcon]

All right, I know you guys get a lot of these, but my request is a little different.

My problem with anime as a whole is that I'm simply not in its usual demographic, that demographic being people who like watching girls of various ages doing all sorts of awesome stuff with no icky men getting in the way. Problem is, I don't just like watching guys loaded on more testosterone than Cho-Marisa beating the sh*t out of one another, either, so there goes Dragon Ball Whatever.

So, here's the thing: I need an anime series that has actual gender balance: and by that, I don't just mean balance in characters; I mean balance in characters that actually do stuff. And don't say Haruhi Suzumiya, because I already have a bias against her that's a little too strong.

Edit: Here's some stuff I've already seen:

-Excel Saga: It did have good gender balance, and I liked it a lot. But I've already seen it. Subbed.
-Evangelion: Well, I've seen the first eight episodes. Not really sure if I want to continue. Subbed.
-Vampire Knight: Seen one episode of this. My sister has seen the entire first season or so, and liked it. Not sure about GB, though. Dubbed.
-Sonic X: Yeeeeeeeah. I only watched it because it was Sonic, and because I needed voice clips from Dan Green's Knuckles. Mixture of both.

 

[Ghost]

Ghost in the Shell is brilliant, it's maybe has a bit more action and fighting than you want but it's very well written, it's very different to other animes.

Madoka is great as well, it is 'girls of various ages doing all sorts of awesome stuff', but give it a chance. By the end of episode 3 you'll be hooked.

 

[Bon_Clay]

Watch the movie Akira, just do it regardless of what this thread is about if you haven't.

Black Lagoon is a cool violent show that has an actually useful female lead.

And umm, Soul Eater is decently balanced in gender for a shounen sorta series. Out of the main cast of kids its 4 girls to 3 boys iirc.

Edit: Finish Evangelion, you may hate it when its over, but you also might love it. Some people get too confused over the ending. Though the movies, and recent remakes are clearing that up.

And someone suggestion Ranma ½, that's gender balanced if there ever was such a thing, good call.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

Trigun meets your qualifications, continue Evangelion, and I second Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

 

[Sacman]

Ergo Proxy is a great show... watch it it's fairly gender balanced...

Le Chevalier D'Eon too...

Boogiepop Phantom as well if you like that sort of supernatural, psychological, thriller, mystery anthology thing...<.<

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

If you want a good gender balance AND comedy, try Ranma ½, it's a classic from the late eighties to mid 90s that's well worth checking out if you haven't already.

 

[Ultress]

Might as well third Madoka, it's pretty damn good.

Aquatic Language and it's spiritual successor Time to Eve. The former being a nine minute short about something and the latter being about human robot relationships,a short but beautiful series. Probably better known as Mizu no Kotoba and Eve no Jikan respectively.

EDIT: I'll also add the first 2 seasons of Hell Girl,harsh social commentary hidden in victim of the week revenge stories.Admittedly you could skip season one and not miss out on many things story wise but then you'd be depriving yourself of seeing some truly horrid people and some really cool revenges.

Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei a weird mindscrew comedy about a melodramatic teacher and his psychotic class. It takes the piss out of anything and everything mostly concerned with societal ills.

 

[moretimethansense]

Trigun
Ghost in the Shell
Witch Hunter Robin
Code Geass
Cowboy Bebop
Eve no Jikan
Full Metal Panic!
FLCL
Genshiken (Though if you're not really in to anime you may not get most of the jokes)
Scrapped Princess
Hellsing Ultimate OVAs

Since you only stated that you want a gender balance I can't say which you'd like or not.

 

[Sven und EIN HUND]

Most of what I would usually suggest has already been suggested, however Darker Than Black has not been, so I strongly recommend that you acquire, in some way, the first season of Darker Than Black.

Believe me. Goddamn awesome.

 

[NiPah]

Great Teacher Onizuka - Ex motorcycle gang member decides to become the best teacher of all time.
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor - Bubbling idiot from off the street decides to join the space force in order to get famous, ends up winning the war.
Spice and Wolf - guy goes around selling stuff in the middle ages with a wolf god.

I dunno those are just off the top of my head.

 

[Ladette]

I see no recommendation of Baccano! . That needs to be rectafied.

Tons and tons of characters, and despite the fact that it's set mostly in the 1920's there's practically no gender bias to speak of. Yes it's quite often brutally violent, but there's also great drama and hilarious comedy throughout.

Durarara!! is made by the same people who did Baccano!, and although i've only seen the first two episodes it seems to be really good. A lot like Baccano! though, so if you like/dislike one you should enjoy/hate the other.

 

[SckizoBoy]

I'll second Darker than BLACK (the second season was OK, but not a patch on the first), Witch Hunter Robin and GitS.

My own first recommendation is going to be rather weird:

Hourou Musuko (or 'the Wandering Son'), it's about pre-teens dealing with gender identity, but definitely something I'd recommend to watch if you want to get away from the typical anime tropes.

Fuujin Monogatari is another balanced one, though the art style might take some getting used to (it's about three kids who discover - through medium of cat - wind manipulation, but it's slice-of-life not action).

planetES is a definite must if you're into more accurate sci-fi (rubbish collectors in space).

Gankutsuou is an interesting take on the Count of Monte Cristo (if you've read it, you'll know how large the character list is) and you'll enjoy if you enjoy political machination/revenge.

Uh, that's it for now.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Spoiler: Placeholder

so I don't lose all this stuff. Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll be sure to try a few.

 

[pyramid head grape]

All right, I know you guys get a lot of these, but my request is a little different.

My problem with anime as a whole is that I'm simply not in its usual demographic, that demographic being people who like watching girls of various ages doing all sorts of awesome stuff. Problem is, I don't just like watching guys loaded on more testosterone than Cho-Marisa beating the sh*t out of one another, either, so there goes Dragon Ball Whatever.

So, here's the thing: I need an anime series that has actual gender balance: and by that, I don't just mean balance in characters; I mean balance in characters that actually do stuff. And don't say Haruhi Suzumiya, because I already have a bias against her that's a little too strong.

Edit: Here's some stuff I've already seen:

-Excel Saga: It did have good gender balance, and I liked it a lot. But I've already seen it. Subbed.
-Evangelion: Well, I've seen the first eight episodes. Not really sure if I want to continue. Subbed.
-Vampire Knight: Seen one episode of this. My sister has seen the entire first season or so, and liked it. Not sure about GB, though. Dubbed.
-Sonic X: Yeeeeeeeah. I only watched it because it was Sonic. Mixture of both.

From this list I can say ;

D.Gray man - has its moments but its an other shonen title XD

darker than black season 1 only !

Black lagoon

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Season 1) - meh if mystery and insane murderers is your thing check it out if not, stay away from this like its made of fire.

Code geass - this are some well 2 females that do there bit.

Clannad - again worth a shot XD

 

[bbobjs]

I've seen several good recommendation among these posts but I'll throw in my 2¢.

Baccano!: Best anime ever, watch it or remain a ignorant of what 'great' means.

Basilisk: Think tasteful Japanese analog of Romeo and Juliet but with Ninja. Forbidden love, action, gore, secret plots/politics; this series has everything. It's an easy yet satisfying watch, give it a try.

The Tatami Galaxy: Easily ranks among the best anime of this past decade. Quite possibly one of the best attempts at addressing time loops in any medium. Unfortunately it's not the easiest anime to watch as there is a massive amount of quickly spoken dialog; combine this with important signs and you've got quite a bit of reading to do.

Kemonozume: Probably a bit more gore intensive than you'd like but if you can get past the unique art style there's a solid narrative waiting.

FLCL: The closest anime has come to being poetry. Words can't describe it... seriously it's simply not something that can be done.

Cowboy Bebop: Another obvious suggestion, watch it.

Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex: See Cowboy Bebop, somewhat hard to watch if you have a short attention span.

Full Metal Panic!: An impressive franchise that has enjoyed moderate popularity in every medium in which it's been tested. The series is basically carried by its lead character Sousuke Sagara and your enjoyment will almost completely depend on your reaction to him. That said I dare you to hate him, not an easy feat.

ANIME I'VE SEEN SUGGESTED THAT WILL LET YOU DOWN:
Spice and Wolf: Assuming the first season doesn't bore you away, the series completely tanks in season 2. Don't waste your time.

Darker than Black: An ambitious anime that had lots of promise and was on track to stand with the best... then season 2 happened. The ride is fun but just leave the ending up to you imagination as season 2 basically just invents plot holes and then resets everything to where it was when season 1 ended. It was so bad that the possibility of a season 3 has been actively denied.

Clannad: While it's not a bad anime, it's absolutely not what you claim to be looking for. No gender balance, totally moe pandering and more.

When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni): Another anime that's precluded by your guidelines. You might actually like the first season but I can guarantee season 2 will piss you off. On the plus side its fairly easy to watch season 1 and consider than the ending.

Great Teacher Onizuka: Not worth the time investment.

Madoka: Great anime... but not what you claim to want.

Soul Eater: Kinda neat, but ultimately it's standard shounen.

D.Gray man: Again standard shounen.

Black Lagoon: Entertaining but don't expect it to go anywhere. OK if you want some mindless fun.

Durarara: Kind of a disappointment but not a terrible anime. Either way watch Baccano first.

^This is getting TL;DR and I'm getting tired of typing so I guess I'll just cut my lists short.

 

[LoFr3Eq]

One of my personal favourites that fit this genre would be Boogie Pop Phantom.

It is a wild, confusing, magical journey.

 

[TheAmokz]

Bakemonogatari. It's fucking masterpiece. Everyone should see it.

 

[oberkid4]

buso renkin is pretty well balanced.
hetalia axis powers is good but you have to watch the sub the dub is awful

s

 

[mireko]

I was about to berate you for posting this before the other anime recommendation thread died, but hey, at least you justified it.


Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Sci-fi, thriller-type stuff.

Dennou Coil: Sci-fi, heartwarming stuff.

Boogiepop Phantom: The only creepy horror anime. Well, this and SEL.

Serial Experiments Lain: Yup, more sci-fi. Psychological horror too.

Haibane Renmei: Can't really describe it. Fantasy?

Kino's Journey: Vaguely surreal series about someone wandering through a bunch of fictional countries. Feels like The Twilight Zone at times.

More comedy-oriented stuff:

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Fast cuts, weird humor and references. So Shinbo it hurts.

Nichijou: KyoAni slice-of-life show with weird stuff happening. This one has male characters too. Funnier than most.

Pani Poni Dash: All the characters in this one are female, has a relatively similar comedy style to Excel Saga, though. Same director as Zetsubou Sensei, and it shows.

Skip Evangelion.

[sub]And finally, trust no-one.[/sub]