Post your favorite anime

[CaptKirby]

DroptheNuke, not trying to be arrogant, but avro and blame are right. People see it when new to anime, do not mind the bad fanservice/relationships, and find the angsty plot/backstory actually meaningful + love the gore.

mzkenken, K-on is a good example, but is not as popular or taken as seriously. No one but moeblob fans take it seriously, whereas anyone can taken Elfenlied seriously. K-on is like a worse Naruto in terms of popularity boosting critical perception, less popular but (sadly) not as poorly animated, so a little more critically popular. K-on has a very specific more "otaku" audience, whereas Elfenlied appeals to both those and fans of gore + blood in general.

Of course, if you mean Major, that is one that every season of is taken seriously and has won real prizes and real respect with its popularity despite being the same as every other terrible sports manga (I find Slam Dunk and Hajime no Ippo overrated as hell, but both of those crush Major in quality...I think Prince of Tennis is the only popular sports manga I can think of that is worse than Major).

 

[avroillusion]

really? I thought they just liked the violence.

Yeah, that too. But I've seen dissenters get hit with massive rants about how they're heartless and stupid if they dislike (or in the words of the fans "don't get") the show. However, it isn't really a case of not getting it but there being nothing to get; it being so shallow.

Oh, I also forgot to mention I really enjoyed Mononoke (crazy supernatural show) and Kuuchuu Buranko (psychedelic feel-good series...though it's a little weaker). I'll be looking forward to whatever Kenji Nakamura does next. Animation is a little poor but the use of texture in Mononoke and the mixed media usage in KB is pretty interesting.

 

[DropTheNuke]

Sure, I guess you're right. Does the same deal apply to Hellsing, then? Like, are new anime viewers drawn into Hellsing because of the violence, etc?

To be honest, I've never met anyone who's actually admitted to liking Elfen Lied because of the gore or the fanservice. I know people who watched it for the gore and boobies, but none of them have actually admitted to liking it because of the flying heads/clothing. Guess I'm just strange that way :/

 

[tape]

Oh also Baccano! was/is great.

It had gore but it wasn't about gore. The gore just seemed part of the anime itself, and not to actually get attention.

 

[avroillusion]

Sure, I guess you're right. Does the same deal apply to Hellsing, then? Like, are new anime viewers drawn into Hellsing because of the violence, etc?

To be honest, I've never met anyone who's actually admitted to liking Elfen Lied because of the gore or the fanservice. I know people who watched it for the gore and boobies, but none of them have actually admitted to liking it because of the flying heads/clothing. Guess I'm just strange that way :/

Well, it's not like Hellsing is bad. It's not trying to teach you anything; it's a fun series due to its stylish gratuitousness and self aware, over-the-top presentation. Elfen Lied tries to be deep and just falls flat on its face, and that's where it draws my ire. And I generally have a low threshold of tolerance for wacky love triangle hijinks, but I suppose it's because it's usually so badly done.

 

[EpicTurtle]

Code Geass, amazing ending, a combo of death note, gundam and probably some other show mixed together. What's not to love?

 

[Obsessed]

Code Geass, amazing ending, a combo of death note, gundam and probably some other show mixed together. What's not to love?

The terrible pacing during the second half, and at least a handful of plot holes.

Still a good show, but it has some problems.

 

[DropTheNuke]

^^I would argue to bad writing and plot holes rather than the pacing. Yes, the pacing was insane, but that's what IMO made the second season fun to watch. It was enjoyable to get hit by waves of cliffhanger/twist/wtf (at least for me). Plot holes on the other hand were inexcusable; the one million zeros thing hit me the most.

But hey, when you compare the writing of R2 to the writing of the second half of Death Note, I prefer R2.

 

[vonFiedler]

Season 2 of Death Note still had its moments. R2 had A moment, when what's name opened her eyes. Freaked me the fuck out. But the ending? I was just groaning, "Oh god, they aren't actually pulling an Ozymandias are they?"

They did.

 

[DropTheNuke]

Part of the reason why I prefer the writing of R2 over the writing of the second half of Death Note (hereby shortened to DN2) is because I wasn't watching R2 for the writing.

Death Note had amazing writing throughout the first half. I would go as far as to say that the writing was the main appeal of Death Note. That's why, during my first run of DN2, I expected the same writing appeal that the first half gave me. So when DN2 gave me its contrived bullshit in the place of good writing, I was not impressed at all.

Geass was different. It was never particularly well-written, but I wasn't watching it for its writing and plot. I was watching it for the pace, action, and character deconstruction. So when R2 brought the writing and plot down another level, it didn't particularly offend me as much.

It's fair to say that the writing of DN2 is still on par with R2, or even better. It was just way too weak compared to the first half, and that's what let me down. DN2 took Death Note's greatest strength and reduced it to R2 level, if you get what I'm trying to say.

Edit: There were other good moments in R2 as well, for what they're worth. The end of episode 5, I think, when Suzaku gave Lelouch a call from Nunally, was IMO quite good. Lelouch becoming emperor was something I didn't see coming, but that's probably only applies to me.

 

[Firestorm]

Code Geass, amazing ending, a combo of death note, gundam and probably some other show mixed together. What's not to love?

Retconning the original ending to cash in with a crappy second season. That's something that I didn't love.

 

[Da Letter El]

In no particular order, my favorite animes would be:

-Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
-Code Geass (r2 had plot holes, but was still entertaining and I loved the very end)
-Death Note until...yeah...
-Cowboy Bebop

Currently am watching Higurashi and K-on! (just finished the 1st seasons of both) and I like both so far. Not sure where I'd place them, but I dont want to pass judgment on them until I'm finished

People already explained why these shows are good, so I'll leave it at that.

I have an anime shit list too but i dont think I should post that.

 

[CaptKirby]

Sure, I guess you're right. Does the same deal apply to Hellsing, then? Like, are new anime viewers drawn into Hellsing because of the violence, etc?

To be honest, I've never met anyone who's actually admitted to liking Elfen Lied because of the gore or the fanservice. I know people who watched it for the gore and boobies, but none of them have actually admitted to liking it because of the flying heads/clothing. Guess I'm just strange that way :/

It depends more on where you define "actually cool" as personally to whether Hellsing is "legitimate" or not. The anime is certainly more shallow than the manga, but at the same time the manga looks more ridiculous in a way (think like Berserk as it got more obsessed with drawing ridiculous shit, if you have read that very far). Hellsing is okay to slightly good, where Elfenlied is bad to terrible. I would say in both cases people are drawn to them for being linear, straightforward presentations with lots of action to make it even simpler to engage with; people like action whether it is nuanced or mindless.

 

[MrIndigo]

The Hellsing OVA seemed to be trying to remain serious all the way through, thus the nonstop action. The manga, especially with all the marginal commentary, seemed to me to be a parody of itself.

 

[CaptKirby]

I solely mean the original, which is what beginning viewers are more likely to see (which is where the discussion lay). The OVAs are also popular, but because of the pace of release, it is not exactly flashy "must watch" material.

 

[Donny Mae.]

Galaxy angel ftw.

That show was completely legend when it first started. Now the plot's just a complete mess imo. The best thing about it though was that it never really took itself seriously, but when it did (once or twice) it was pretty neat.

 

[The Cicada]

DBZ is the best anime ever. No need to explain why.

 

[The 1 and Only Lady Gaga]

I watch quite a lot of anime... some of my favourites are: DN Angel, School Rumble, Yu Yu Hakusho, Gunslinger Girl, Haruhi Suzumiya, Jigoku Shoujo, Ryuusei no Rockman, Flame of Recca, Gakuen Alice etc.

And no, I do not like Naruto or Bleach.

 

[MofoAmbulance]

DBZ is the best anime ever. No need to explain why.

Actually, yes, there is. The pacing was absolutely shoddy at best. The story and characters, immortal, yes, but it's hard to appreciate the archetypes that it created when it's just so SLOW. I can appreciate that some people can look past that but looking back on it, it's actually fairly underwhelming in terms of anime today.

Personal favourite anime? Not sure. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann was immense and I will swear by it, but it's not the single greatest anime that ever existed, that's for sure. Durarara! was pretty good as was its soul predecessor, Baccano!... Hm.

Yeah, really not sure about anime. Manga, though, I can say without a semblance of a doubt Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro. The anime had nothing on it. NOTHING.

 

[vonFiedler]

I'd even go a step further and say that Dragonball was a much, much more entertaining and occasionally thrilling show.

 

[Lord Liam]

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, not Destiny the original along with .hack/sigh

 

[Xav]

I love Hunter X Hunter anime and manga, to bad the creator was sick for ages, but the manga has finally returned.

 

[Eraddd]

I watched all of Full Metal Alchemist and then watched the OVA. It was pretty good I thought, although the ending wasn't as great as I hoped it would be.

Then I read the manga. Man that was very well written.

Oh and I also watched a bit of Air Gear. Wasn't that great. I prefer the manga 10 times over.

 

[MrIndigo]

I'd even go a step further and say that Dragonball was a much, much more entertaining and occasionally thrilling show.

QFT.

Dragonball was rad.

 

[SJCrew]

My current favorite is RahXephon without a doubt. I just watched it about a month ago and I'm already looking to get the box set so I can watch it again. My time is very valuable to me and I generally don't like wasting my time rewatching shows, movies or anime because of all the new and old material out there I have yet to see, but the storyline moved me in such a way I don't think I'll ever forget.

Let's suppose Evangelion had a hero with a little more backbone and personality in place of that (BAN ME PLEASE) Shinji. Then we add a complicated love story driven by a beautiful woman with an excellent personality (not reika not reika not reika, fuck reika) in place of all the emo and whining...then we get an awesome mech with godly power that kicks ass on every turn...yeah, that's basically our winning formula here.

I mean, I can discuss this for days with anyone who's watched the show, but this is about the best way I can summarize it (and if you haven't even seen Evangelion, you haven't really been watching anime at all). Like really, if RahXephon were a chick, I'd make out with her. This is about as good as it gets, folks, don't go through life without having seen this.