newbie

[petal]

hi i came here via a livejournal community when i asked for good anime/manga resources.

I'm new to anime and all i have in my collection is -

Akira

Spirited Away

and manga -

Utena & Love Hina
-------------------

anyway i've been stumbling around the net trying to find good places to buy but i wondered if anyone can point me in a few good places as Amazon and Play don't have much.

also i was looking at a lot of japanese sites and came across a character who i think is called Arashi (a girl in a plaid skirt and chunky tank-top) but thats all i can found out, she seems to be popular but i can't figure out if she's in a comic or film?

 

[Sy]

Amazon.co.uk have just about everything you just have to know what you're looking for. I don't buy many UK DVD's because I find them to be overpriced and mainly stick to US DVD's.

As for some recommendations, lets start with some series you might want to give a try...

Stand Alone Complex(and the Ghost in the Shell movies)
Cowboy Bebop (tv series and movie)
Trigun
Full Metal Alchemist
Wolf's Rain
Neon Genesis Evangelion(and the movie End of Evangelion, although watch the movie after the series )
Noir
Azumanga Diaoh(Try the manga as well)
Perfect Blue(movie)

You might want to try out the 2 Works boxsets. They are excellent for people who want to try out new series or have not watched much anime before. Here's the links to the sets...

Pack 1
Pack 2

PS I'd also recommend Witch Hunter Robin, it's my alltime favourite series but I don't really know anybody else who even likes it.

 

[where's my cow?]

Hey there! I also recommend the Works boxsets! You're bound to find something you like in there that you can follow up your collection with, I know because it's what started my collection (which is growing rapidly only a month or so later!)

Personally I love Chobits, Tenchi Muyo, Haibane Renmei and Gungrave. It's quite a bizzare mix for favourite, but hey! And I discovered them all through the second boxset!

 

[Warmaster]

Hi. I hardly subscribe to being an 'oldbie' but i do have a reasonable selection of series.

I'll go by Genre a bit with suggestions.

Action: This one i'd usually suggest either Hellsing, for the more horror orientated, or Martian Successor Nadesico, for the more lightweight action comedy mecha angle It was the first series i bought (had seen it on tv earlier though) and it is still great. Noir is another possible candidate (only seen the first dvd though)

Comedy: For lightweight comedy, Nadesico again. However for out an out hilariousness, Excel Saga without a doubt.

Sureal: Lots of candidates here, though what they deal with is very different. My fave is Haibane Renmei, but Serial Experiments Lain and Paranoia Agent have recently put themselves high on my 'bloody hell, this is deep stuff!' list

As for Films, you can't go wrong with the rest of the available Studio Ghibli stuff - Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the wind are musts, and to a slightly lesser degree, so are Kiki's delivery service, castle in the sky, The cat returns, and of course, the best anti war film ever made in ANY medium: The Grave of the Fireflies.

That lot will only cost a few hundred to start with :wink:

 

[kupocake]

Mmmm.... more Ghibli... needs more Ghibli...

Princess Mononoke (Spirited Away fans tend to like this one, often even more for its strong action overtones)
Grave of the Fireflies (An extraordinary film that you'll probably watch once and never be able to bring yourself to watch again. Sad. Animation at its most powerful)
Castle in the Sky (A Straightforward family action-Anime classic)
Kiki's Delivery Service (Mostly only a girly-only movie. So cute it will either make you puke or fall instantly in love with it. Simple but effective and fun story)
The Cat Returns (More girlyness, just not quite as good.)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (A Fantasy Action movie quite similar to Mononoke, but predating it. The film is good, but the Manga is an instant recommendation to anyone)

and the forthcoming releases of Pom Poko, Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, Only Yesterday, My Neighbours the Yamadas, Whispers of the Heart, My Neighbour Totoro and any others i've forgotten...

Another essential film-maker IMO is Satoshi Kon. Perfect Blue is a Psychological Thriller that, whilst undoubtably good, doesn't have a wide enough appeal (or a low enough age certificate) to make it a "recommend this to anyone" kind of thing. On the other hand, Millennium Actress is a beautiful film that everyone should see, and Tokyo Godfathers is the best Christmas film i've ever seen, simply because it's the only good Christmas film i've ever seen!

Anime / Manga series you should check out. I'm going to stab in the dark and say Fruits Basket. It's a Romantic Comedy just like Love Hina (and Utena? I've not read it), though it's aimed at girls rather than guys (less boob jokes, more prettyboys). It's really fun, sweet and quite sad in places.

Sorry, I've not got too many recommendations on the Akira side... Ghost in the Shell is another classic of anime, but I personally thought it was pretentious, annoying and dull. Metropolis is a nice enough Anime by Otomo (guy behind Akira), but it's not particuarly groundbreaking or brilliant if you ask me (I know quite a few people disagree with me though). All in all, don't be afraid to experiment a little. Many people find that under the umbrella of anime, they're actually interested in genres that would usually repulse them at first sight (guys liking Romantic Comedies?! Girls liking big robots :O :O :O ). There's lots of stuff out there and some of it is crap, but watch a bit more, and people will be able to give you a more specialised idea of what you're after

Edit: Just adding two wide appealing favorites of mine:
The Vision of Escaflowne (Anime): An awesome fantasy series with both a) big robot fights and b) Romantic intrigue. A rare mix that somehow works really well.
Azumanga Daioh (Anime/Manga): Amusing but very Japanese comedy about a bunch of highschool friends.

 

[Sy]

All in all, don't be afraid to experiment a little. Many people find that under the umbrella of anime, they're actually interested in genres that would usually repulse them at first sight (guys liking Romantic Comedies?! Girls liking big robots :O :O :O ).

Yep Yep! While some of my favourite series are Witch Hunter Robin, Serial Experiments Lain, Stand Alone Complex and Noir I also enjoy shows like Love Hina, Azumanga Diaoh, Chobits and Ah My Goddess. That's almost the other end of the spectrum. I poo pooed them at first until I watched Love Hina one day when I was ill.

 

[Warmaster]

Grave of the Fireflies (An extraordinary film that you'll probably watch once and never be able to bring yourself to watch again. Sad. Animation at its most powerful)

Exactly what i feel. One of the best anti war films ever made, and i've only watched it all the way through twice. I can't bring myself to see it again!

 

[subedii]

We ought to set up a 'recommended watching' sticky, since this question keeps coming up. Maybe title it something like "recommendations for those new to anime" or something. The usual suspects keep getting stated again and again after all.

Just divide the titles up by genre (and maybe have a seperate section for buying on a budget. After all, most new people won't want to spend a lot of money on an entire series just yet), put in all the major titles, and that's it really. It can get updated from time to time as well.

EDIT: Actually, instead of a forum thread, maybe somebody could write up an article instead along similar lines, with some brief show descriptions accompanying each title as well. I think that would be a good adition to the site. the UK anime scene seems to be growing at the moment after all.