Help finding gorgeous or mind-bending or hilarious anime to watch?
September 28, 2011 4:32 PM Subscribe
I like anime, but I've been mostly out of touch for a while. When I look at a list of titles I don't know what most of them are! Can you give me some recommendations of gorgeous or endearing or mind-bending anime series newer than 1996 or so that aren't Death Note, Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) or Wallflower? (Liked all of those, but have seen them!) Older favorites include Revolutionary Girl Utena, Fruits Basket, Saiyuki, Hana Yori Dango, Kodomo no Omocha, movies by Satoshi Kon... Gay characters are a plus, though not required. Availability isn't really a factor, I will find it as long as I know what it is!
Do you know about Crunchyroll?
This is a pretty great way to check out some new series. Personally I'm fond of the Mystic Archives of Dantalian, and Durarara. And if you're looking for Yaoi, they have Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. (And my favorites are pretty much your favorites, for what it's worth)
posted by Caravantea at 4:41 PM on September 28, 2011
This is a pretty great way to check out some new series. Personally I'm fond of the Mystic Archives of Dantalian, and Durarara. And if you're looking for Yaoi, they have Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. (And my favorites are pretty much your favorites, for what it's worth)
posted by Caravantea at 4:41 PM on September 28, 2011
Best answer: Puella Magi Madoka Magica. (Deconstruction of the magical girl genre, references Utena all over the place, gay characters somewhere between text and subtext.)
posted by Jeanne at 4:41 PM on September 28, 2011
posted by Jeanne at 4:41 PM on September 28, 2011
Paradise Kiss has some LGBTness and is definitely an attractive, endearing anime.
Did you see Paranoia Agent (Satoshi Kon series) or Paprika(amazingly trippy Kon movie)? Both are post 96.
Other than that... I really like Musishi, although it is very slow paced.
FLCL is definitely trippy, although not really in the way that Satoshi Kon stuff is.
posted by selfnoise at 4:54 PM on September 28, 2011
Did you see Paranoia Agent (Satoshi Kon series) or Paprika(amazingly trippy Kon movie)? Both are post 96.
Other than that... I really like Musishi, although it is very slow paced.
FLCL is definitely trippy, although not really in the way that Satoshi Kon stuff is.
posted by selfnoise at 4:54 PM on September 28, 2011
Keep an eyeball on niconico, which is the English flavor of niconicodouga but most importantly simulcasts a handful of new shows each season - a new one's starting up soon.
Recently I've enjoyed C (gorgeous, a little mind-bendy, badass), Kaiba (gorgeous endearing mind-bending heart-rending brilliance), Dennou Coil (endearing, gorgeous, mind-expanding), Usagi Drop (endearing, gorgeous, heart-string-pulling), and Sket Dance (hilarious, endearing, wacky).
Full disclosure: I've been involved in the official translation for all of these; any typos left in the subtitles are my fault. Mea culpa. Anyway, I watch far far too much anime to remember it all and stay sane, but the shows listed above are the ones that have stuck in my head. That's got to mean something, yes?
posted by Mizu at 4:58 PM on September 28, 2011
Recently I've enjoyed C (gorgeous, a little mind-bendy, badass), Kaiba (gorgeous endearing mind-bending heart-rending brilliance), Dennou Coil (endearing, gorgeous, mind-expanding), Usagi Drop (endearing, gorgeous, heart-string-pulling), and Sket Dance (hilarious, endearing, wacky).
Full disclosure: I've been involved in the official translation for all of these; any typos left in the subtitles are my fault. Mea culpa. Anyway, I watch far far too much anime to remember it all and stay sane, but the shows listed above are the ones that have stuck in my head. That's got to mean something, yes?
posted by Mizu at 4:58 PM on September 28, 2011
Serial Experiments: Lain is newer than 1995, right? Must be because you didn't mention it as a favorite.
Paranoia Agent. Meticulously animated, sorta mind-bending noir mystery.
Cromartie High. Inventive animation, bizarre... I always describe it this way: A gorilla, a robot, and Freddie Mercury are regular characters in what is nominally a high school drama.
posted by cmoj at 5:14 PM on September 28, 2011
Paranoia Agent. Meticulously animated, sorta mind-bending noir mystery.
Cromartie High. Inventive animation, bizarre... I always describe it this way: A gorilla, a robot, and Freddie Mercury are regular characters in what is nominally a high school drama.
posted by cmoj at 5:14 PM on September 28, 2011
Mawaru Penguindrum is currently airing now, and it's directed by Ikuhara who worked on Utena. Needless to say, it's a mind bender.
Casshern Sins and Mushishi are arguably gorgeous, not in a 5 Cm Per Second kind of way though, but rather in its atmosphere, art style, and story telling.
posted by SollosQ at 5:22 PM on September 28, 2011
Casshern Sins and Mushishi are arguably gorgeous, not in a 5 Cm Per Second kind of way though, but rather in its atmosphere, art style, and story telling.
posted by SollosQ at 5:22 PM on September 28, 2011
Best answer: Steins;Gate is absolutely mind-blowing. It's a 24-episode series about a group of friends + time travel, and the end of every episode will keep you on the edge of your seat, pretty much until the very end. Very well done series, both animation-wise and plot-/character-wise. :) The story is strongly driven by character development, and the time travel parts are actually highly engaging and do not bog down the show as time travel so often tends to do in other series.
(Yes, I am very enthusiastic about this series~ you will not regret watching it!)
No. 6 is also quite interesting if you are into that sort of thing. Look it up to see what I mean. :)
posted by glassrose at 6:05 PM on September 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
(Yes, I am very enthusiastic about this series~ you will not regret watching it!)
No. 6 is also quite interesting if you are into that sort of thing. Look it up to see what I mean. :)
posted by glassrose at 6:05 PM on September 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you want mind-bending, then you should watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica. (It's usually referred to as just "Madoka", the name of the main character.)
It's a dark take on the "magical girl" genre, and I mean really dark. But it's easily the best series of the last five years. The director is Akiyuki Shinbo, who is pretty much the best director going right now. And he knows all about the magical girl genre, since he directed "Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha" (which itself was something of a subversion of the genre).
Shinbo is known for subverting genres, and for Madoka he collected an all-star team. Shaft gave him a big budget, and it shows. There is nothing cliche about this series. It's top quality from beginning to end.
And it's been giving me strange dreams.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:06 PM on September 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's a dark take on the "magical girl" genre, and I mean really dark. But it's easily the best series of the last five years. The director is Akiyuki Shinbo, who is pretty much the best director going right now. And he knows all about the magical girl genre, since he directed "Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha" (which itself was something of a subversion of the genre).
Shinbo is known for subverting genres, and for Madoka he collected an all-star team. Shaft gave him a big budget, and it shows. There is nothing cliche about this series. It's top quality from beginning to end.
And it's been giving me strange dreams.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:06 PM on September 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'll second Mushishi. It has a wonderful atmosphere, and the concept hits me right at my folklore and myth-loving core.
Spice and Wolf is endearing and gorgeous. Apparently some people find it boring because much of the episodic drama relates to trade and economics, but the relationship between wolf-goddess Holo and merchant Lawrence is charming and mature (as in grown-up, not naughty).
Natsume's Book of Friends is absolutely endearing. It's about an orphaned high school boy who inherited the ability to see demons from his grandmother, and the ways he's struggled to find his place between two worlds. It, too, is sometimes described as boring, but I would liken it's pacing to Fruits Basket in that the emphasis is on the relationships between the characters, many of which just happen to be demons.
Someone above mentioned Sekaiichi Hatsukoi as a yaoi option. I'm not particularly into yaoi or shonen-ai, but I will happily admit to being addicted to Sekaiichi. It's an adorable romantic comedy about a manga editor who winds up being supervised by his first love from high school. It's pure cotton-candy fluff, but it's actually told well without as much dysfunction and "I'm totally not gay except for this one guy" that typically turns me off to the genre. Those elements aren't totally absent, but for the most part it's just a romcom where the characters happen to be gay.
If you want other avenues to get back into the genre, Hulu has a decent selection in addition to the previously mentioned Crunchyroll and niconico. I also check Anime News Network frequently, especially around the start of each quarterly batch as they do both neutral summaries of each new show, and reviews of the first few episodes of most of them. They've saved me a lot of time in the past, and were particularly useful as I was getting back into anime after a three year break.
posted by syanna at 6:44 PM on September 28, 2011
Spice and Wolf is endearing and gorgeous. Apparently some people find it boring because much of the episodic drama relates to trade and economics, but the relationship between wolf-goddess Holo and merchant Lawrence is charming and mature (as in grown-up, not naughty).
Natsume's Book of Friends is absolutely endearing. It's about an orphaned high school boy who inherited the ability to see demons from his grandmother, and the ways he's struggled to find his place between two worlds. It, too, is sometimes described as boring, but I would liken it's pacing to Fruits Basket in that the emphasis is on the relationships between the characters, many of which just happen to be demons.
Someone above mentioned Sekaiichi Hatsukoi as a yaoi option. I'm not particularly into yaoi or shonen-ai, but I will happily admit to being addicted to Sekaiichi. It's an adorable romantic comedy about a manga editor who winds up being supervised by his first love from high school. It's pure cotton-candy fluff, but it's actually told well without as much dysfunction and "I'm totally not gay except for this one guy" that typically turns me off to the genre. Those elements aren't totally absent, but for the most part it's just a romcom where the characters happen to be gay.
If you want other avenues to get back into the genre, Hulu has a decent selection in addition to the previously mentioned Crunchyroll and niconico. I also check Anime News Network frequently, especially around the start of each quarterly batch as they do both neutral summaries of each new show, and reviews of the first few episodes of most of them. They've saved me a lot of time in the past, and were particularly useful as I was getting back into anime after a three year break.
posted by syanna at 6:44 PM on September 28, 2011
I've been heartily recommending Planetes for a while now: It's a near-future hard-SF series about low-Earth-orbit debris collectors (or space garbagemen) that initially plays a little bit like Robert Heinlein's The Office, but over the course of the series turns into a pretty fantastic human-adventure story in its own right.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:23 PM on September 28, 2011
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:23 PM on September 28, 2011
I recommend Bleach. It's based off a Shonen Jump manga but I still like it.
posted by RedShrek at 7:34 PM on September 28, 2011
posted by RedShrek at 7:34 PM on September 28, 2011
Bleach information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_%28manga%29#Anime
posted by RedShrek at 7:35 PM on September 28, 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_%28manga%29#Anime
posted by RedShrek at 7:35 PM on September 28, 2011
Summer Wars for gorgeous.
When they cry, I saw 4 episodes of and its pretty darn mind melty.
Speed Grapher and Gantz are rumored to be pretty melty/extreme/adult.
Fullmetal Alchemist is gorgeous and fun and can be surprisingly mind melty
Ouran High School Host Club is hillarious.. maybe pre-96, but fits the non-melty requirements
posted by Jacen at 7:37 PM on September 28, 2011
When they cry, I saw 4 episodes of and its pretty darn mind melty.
Speed Grapher and Gantz are rumored to be pretty melty/extreme/adult.
Fullmetal Alchemist is gorgeous and fun and can be surprisingly mind melty
Ouran High School Host Club is hillarious.. maybe pre-96, but fits the non-melty requirements
posted by Jacen at 7:37 PM on September 28, 2011
Fair warning on Bleach: There is something like 8000 episodes. And counting.
Axis Powers Hetalia! (If you arent a history major. Or if you are, and can handle some....... odd... takes on history)
posted by Jacen at 7:41 PM on September 28, 2011
Axis Powers Hetalia! (If you arent a history major. Or if you are, and can handle some....... odd... takes on history)
posted by Jacen at 7:41 PM on September 28, 2011
Antique Bakery is an excellent manga that's been made into anime (I haven't seen the anime, but I hear it's fairly closer to the original story than the live-action drama series was). One of the main characters is very openly gay.
posted by misozaki at 12:51 AM on September 29, 2011
posted by misozaki at 12:51 AM on September 29, 2011
I also heartily recommend Dennou Coil. It is really one of my favorite anime series. Another series I particularly enjoyed was Saraiya Goyou. It's a bit slow, but it is very endearing to me. The animation style is also very different. Gay-ness is not explicit but can be assumed based on your personality.
I also liked Spice and Wolf, Eve no Jikan, and Moyashimon.
posted by that girl at 1:22 AM on September 29, 2011
I also liked Spice and Wolf, Eve no Jikan, and Moyashimon.
posted by that girl at 1:22 AM on September 29, 2011
Princess Tutu (2002) is a bit like Utena, only with ballet dance offs instead of duels.
Rahxephon (2002) is like Evangelion, except the robots sing and the ending makes sense. Avoid the movie.
Toward the Terra (2007) is sci fi drama - not really mind-bending, but it does get quite dark.
Pandora Hearts (2009) has pretty clothing like Kuroshitsuji and is really good until the last couple of episodes when they got beyond the manga.
Shiki (2010) has some issues with pacing and character designs, but I really loved it. The anti-Twilight?
If you do use crunchyroll, I think Natsume's Book of Friends (Natsume Yuujinchou) is the best thing on there. The new season has been a little uneven, but the first two seasons are absolutely wonderful.
posted by betweenthebars at 4:44 AM on September 29, 2011
Rahxephon (2002) is like Evangelion, except the robots sing and the ending makes sense. Avoid the movie.
Toward the Terra (2007) is sci fi drama - not really mind-bending, but it does get quite dark.
Pandora Hearts (2009) has pretty clothing like Kuroshitsuji and is really good until the last couple of episodes when they got beyond the manga.
Shiki (2010) has some issues with pacing and character designs, but I really loved it. The anti-Twilight?
If you do use crunchyroll, I think Natsume's Book of Friends (Natsume Yuujinchou) is the best thing on there. The new season has been a little uneven, but the first two seasons are absolutely wonderful.
posted by betweenthebars at 4:44 AM on September 29, 2011
Princess Tutu Princess Tutu! Mushishi also.
posted by nicebookrack at 5:27 AM on September 29, 2011
posted by nicebookrack at 5:27 AM on September 29, 2011
Response by poster: Sugoi, minna-san! This is a treasure trove, thank you so much! I feel like I'm holding out my skirt, catching jewel-shaped candies falling from the sky. What a sweet shiny pile of goodies!
cmoj mentioned Lain - yes, I saw it when it was new, but it wasn't a favorite. And I did try about 4 episodes of Princess Tutu, but didn't get into it.
I will try everything! I have lots of things to watch! And then I'll come back and mark a whole lot of Best Answers. ^^
posted by tomboko at 6:44 AM on September 29, 2011
cmoj mentioned Lain - yes, I saw it when it was new, but it wasn't a favorite. And I did try about 4 episodes of Princess Tutu, but didn't get into it.
I will try everything! I have lots of things to watch! And then I'll come back and mark a whole lot of Best Answers. ^^
posted by tomboko at 6:44 AM on September 29, 2011
Last Exile. Amazingly gorgeous, quite well done.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Both seasons. Gets in deep in some places into philosophy but is more coherent and in depth than the original GitS movie.
A short (25 minutes or so) that will break your heart (in a good way) Voices of a Distant Star.
I really enjoyed Darker Than Black, although that one is much less mind bending/emotional than the above.
posted by Hactar at 7:03 AM on September 29, 2011
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Both seasons. Gets in deep in some places into philosophy but is more coherent and in depth than the original GitS movie.
A short (25 minutes or so) that will break your heart (in a good way) Voices of a Distant Star.
I really enjoyed Darker Than Black, although that one is much less mind bending/emotional than the above.
posted by Hactar at 7:03 AM on September 29, 2011
If you watch Fullmetal Alchemist, be sure to pick up the Brotherhood series rather than the original. Brotherhood is a lot closer to the original manga (which is amazing).
Also, I didn't see Kare Kano mentioned. It's from 1998, but has gorgeous animation and just enough crack to break up the high school drama. Given that you liked Kodomo no Omocha and Hana Yori Dango, I think Kare Kano is right up your alley.
posted by ashirys at 11:53 AM on September 29, 2011
Also, I didn't see Kare Kano mentioned. It's from 1998, but has gorgeous animation and just enough crack to break up the high school drama. Given that you liked Kodomo no Omocha and Hana Yori Dango, I think Kare Kano is right up your alley.
posted by ashirys at 11:53 AM on September 29, 2011
Response by poster: I haven't had a chance yet to watch everything, but holy cow, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a home run! I only wish the series was longer than 12 episodes!
I enjoyed Sekaiichi Hatsukoi a lot, too. Thank you!
posted by tomboko at 6:24 PM on October 8, 2011
I enjoyed Sekaiichi Hatsukoi a lot, too. Thank you!
posted by tomboko at 6:24 PM on October 8, 2011
Response by poster: Ouran High School Host Club is adorable and funny, and Usagi Drop just plain lovable. Natsume's Book of Friends is endearingly excellent too. Still so many more to watch! Thanks again.
posted by tomboko at 10:57 AM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by tomboko at 10:57 AM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by yeolcoatl at 4:34 PM on September 28, 2011 [1 favorite]