So I'm about to get into Anime...

[Zanderinfal]

Hey Escapists!
I have been shrugging off getting into anime for a while now, but with nothing left to do I decided now would be a good time to get invested into some. I have ordered a box set of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex and it's on it's way as we (metaphorically) speak. Give me some good recommendations for some action-y (preferably sci-fi) animes I can watch and give reasons why if possible. All posts are appreciated (besides flamebait, obviously.)

Thanks.

 

[Keoul]

Actiony sci-fi eh?

Neon Genisis Evangelion and Code Geass.
Boy are you gunna have fun with the first one!

 

[VanQ]

I guess A Certain Magical Index is a good sci-fi action show worth watching if you're just getting into the medium.
Not very Sci-fi but plenty of action there is Fate/Zero.
If you like jazz there's Cowboy Bebop, because someone will say it eventually, but it's nowhere near as good as most people would make it out to be. Trigun is slightly better in the same regard and also worth a watch.
Sword Art Online and Accel World are shows I recommend here often since they're set in video games of the not so distant and distant future. Regardless of people bitching about them because of wasted potential, they are both actually better than people would make you believe.

 

[Zanderinfal]

Actiony sci-fi eh?

Neon Genisis Evangelion and Code Geass.
Boy are you gunna have fun with the first one!

Thanks, liking the sound of Neon Genisis for sure

I guess A Certain Magical Index is a good sci-fi action show worth watching if you're just getting into the medium.
Not very Sci-fi but plenty of action there is Fate/Zero.
If you like jazz there's Cowboy Bebop, because someone will say it eventually, but it's nowhere near as good as most people would make it out to be. Trigun is slightly better in the same regard and also worth a watch.
Sword Art Online and Accel World are shows I recommend here often since they're set in video games of the not so distant and distant future. Regardless of people bitching about them because of wasted potential, they are both actually better than people would make you believe.

I remember seeing bits and pieces of Cowboy Bebop vaguely and I recall liking it. As for Sword Art online and Accel World, they sound pretty damn cool honestly. I'll defiantly check them both out at some stage.

 

[madwarper]

There have been several iterations of Gundam over the years. So, if you don't mind the slightly dated animation, you can check it out starting from the 1979 series.

Also, Outlaw Star and Big O are worth a shot as well.

 

[VanQ]

I remember seeing bits and pieces of Cowboy Bebop vaguely and I recall liking it. As for Sword Art online and Accel World, they sound pretty damn cool honestly. I'll defiantly check them both out at some stage.

Watch SAO before AW. AW is a spiritual successor, set 40ish years after the events of SAO.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Action and/or sci-fi?

(I'll be going for anime movies.)

Akira - Classic cyberpunk with brutal action and a mindwarping soundtrack.
Ghost in the Shell (the movie) - A little dry and dull, but hardcore sci-fi through and through.
Metropolis - A retro styled anime movie involving robots sorta based on the Fritz Lang film.
Spriggan - Action adventure with an Indiana Jones theme.
Laputa: Castle in the Sky - Kinda similar to Spriggan except more cartoony and family friendly.
Ninja Scroll - Samurai action with demons.
Street Fighter 2 The Movie - Just campy nonsense with some cool fight scenes.

As for other movies that might fall outside your recommendations:

Memories
Tokyo Godfathers
Paprika
Jin-Roh
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke

 

[Zanderinfal]

There have been several iterations of Gundam over the years. So, if you don't mind the slightly dated animation, you can check it out starting from the 1979 series.

Also, Outlaw Star and Big O are worth a shot as well.

I have heard many good things about Gundam, although there have been many different series' that have been all received differently. I'll look into it more when I have the time but it sounds like a pretty good show.

Watch SAO before AW. AW is a spiritual successor, set 40ish years after the events of SAO.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, these are both brilliant sci-fi series. Both are about 25 episodes long, so they don't overstay their welcome.

 

[Smertnik]

Apart from what has been mentioned already:

Darker Than Black
Ergo Proxy
Redline
Trigun

 

[bojackx]

I'm going to second To Aru Majutsu no Index (A Certain Magical Index). It's a really good action series, and I've yet to find anything similar (except for the spin-off series, A Certain Scientific Railgun). Railgun is entirely focused on the whole science side of things, whereas Index tends to dabble in both science and magic affairs, so you might actually prefer Railgun.

 

[xplosive59]

Sci-Fi:

Neon Genesis Evangelion
Steins;Gate
Cowboy Bebop
Legend of The Galactic Heroes
Space Battleship Yamato 2199
Macross
Mobile Suit Gundam
Galaxy Express 999
Trigun
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Planetes

Action:

Black Lagoon
Hajime no Ippo
Lupin III
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
FLCL
Baccano!

Just Good Shows:

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Welcome to The NHK
GTO
Madoka Magica

You should really check the MAL chart as well to see what peaks your interest: http://myanimelist.net/topanime.php

 

[xshadowscreamx]

when i fisrt got into anime not including DBZ/pokemon when i was young i the 90's.. im talking like 4 or 5 years ago after just after high school.. my first ones was hellsing ultimate/elfen lied/darker then black/howls moving castle

 

[xplosive59]

There have been several iterations of Gundam over the years. So, if you don't mind the slightly dated animation, you can check it out starting from the 1979 series.

Also, Outlaw Star and Big O are worth a shot as well.

I have heard many good things about Gundam, although there have been many different series' that have been all received differently. I'll look into it more when I have the time but it sounds like a pretty good show.

Best way to get into Gundam is to go in chronological order, so start with the original series and move on to Zeta Gundam after. Do not watch the 3 Mobile Suit Gundam condensed films instead of the series, they have really bad pacing.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

Oooh, I have this thing you will find interesting, it has most of the good manga and anime sorted by genre!

Spoiler: Huge image!!

edit: link edited!!

 

[Lumipon]

DO not watch Neon Genesis Evangelion first. I repeat: Do. Not. Watch. N. V. G.

The plot is confusing and the theme is subverting the mecha genre, so it's very difficult to appreciate without prior knowledge of anime and japanese culture.

SO whatever you do, watch NGE later, possibly half a year from now. Just not first. Please.

 

[V'icternus]

Nobody has suggested Gurren Lagann?

Shame. Shame on all of you.

 

[The]

Soul Eater! You have to watch Soul Eater! I don't watch that much anime (in fact, this is the only one I'm currently watching), but this one just won me over in 3 episodes flat. It gets everything right. The humor, the characters, the animation, and since your looking for something action-y, it also has a couple of badass fight scenes. I'll post one here (skip to around 2:00).

 

[Legion]

Well you already have GitS: Stand Alone Complex, and both series (plus the movie Solid State Society) are great, and I think are an excellent series to get you into it.

Darker Than Black - Secret societies hiring assassins and mercenaries with special powers. Great characters, great story and it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Code Geass - It has mechs, but they are not so much the focus as the world war based around a futuristic feudal system, a man with the ability to have any command obeyed and a storyline that gets more extreme with every episode.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - One of the best overall casts of anime characters ever. Hell, the chances are you will even like most of the bad guys. It's a pretty long series, but it will go very fast. It's based around two brothers who are trying to regain their normal bodies back after an experiment gone wrong. All the while a war is brewing due to a conspiracy at the head of the countries military.

Mardock Scramble - A young woman survives an attempted murder, only to be saved thanks to a life preservation technology known as Scramble 09. With a body that gives her the ability to control any electronic object, as well as an AI companion who has the power to take almost any form, she seeks revenge and justice.

Shows that I recommend, although the action isn't the main focus:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Is just a fantastic anime. If you google it and see pictures you will probably wonder how on earth it could be, but I don't want to give spoilers. Just make sure to watch at least the first three episodes before writing it off.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - A sarcastic high school student meets a girl called Haruhi Suzumiya who claims to only have interest in aliens, time travellers and people with special powers. Sounds crazy, but then she starts a club in order to find them. Sounds even crazier, but then unbeknownst to her, the three members who join her club happen to be an alien, a time traveller and a person with ESP, all who claim that she has willed them into existence.

There are many more I could recommend, but some of them may seem very strange to anybody unused to anime conventions. If you do decide you want to try any and all that may be good, here are some others:

Ergo Proxy
Death Note
Neon Genesis Evangelion
K-On!
Spice and Wolf
Angel Beats!
Elfen Lied
Gantz
Texhnolyze
Heaven's Memo Pad
Devil May Cry
Highschool of the Dead (May want to avoid if you despise pointless boob/ass shots)
Witchblade (May want to avoid if you despise pointless boob/ass shots)

 

[Captain Anon]

FullMetal Alchemist or the latest one Brotherhood, a very brilliant anime