Out of the loop for 15 years - recommendations?

C

ChrisT

Hikikomori
Hey

I got in to Anime when I was a teen. I'm 32 now, so we are talking the mid through to the late 90s. Seeing a clip of Guyver playing in a 'Game' store had me hooked, then I bought a copy of 'Manga Mania' magazine, and I was super lucky because it came with a free guide to the 'top 50 Anime', so that was a great introduction.

From the age of 18 onwards I've not really kept up to date with stuff, but for whatever reason, my interest has peeked again. The problem is that Anime has exploded in the meantime and there is so much more available than there was in the 90s, so I don't know where to begin. I know there is so much out there, but if you had to make a small selection of recommendations as a starting point, what would suggest? I'm happy to consider TV shows, OAVs (do they still exist? lol) or films. I've seen Paprika and Summer Wars recently, which were great.

The only thing I'd say is at my age now, I don't necesarily want cutsey anime designed with a younger audience in mind. I did watch the first episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica yesterday, and did find it a little irritating. After all it's audience is teenage girls, so little surprise it wasn't really for me (Mind you, I could sense a darker edge to it, is it worth sticking with?). Anyway, you get my point. Not to say that all Anime targetted at a younger audience lacks merit of course, as that would discount much of the fantastic Miyazaki's work!

Thanks in advance for any time taken giving recommendations. :)
 
Stick with Madoka Magica. I gave it a rewatch recently having forgotten it in the last couple of years, and had the same reaction as you. Until I got to episode 3 and was reminded why the show was so good...

Might be an idea of mentioning what genres in general you like, drama, sci-fi, comedy, action, if there's anything else you don't like other than cutesy aimed at children (I don't suppose you mind cutesy aimed at adults or teens, as there are anime with infantilised characters but which still appeal to broader audiences). Madoka Magica is definitely not a kids anime.

Right now, for smart storytelling and great characters, I'd recommend Durarara!!, which is coming out on 'fixed' Standard Blu-ray next week. It's not linear storytelling, so you'll have to work at it, but it's very rewarding. In the same vein and from the same creators, Baccano, set during prohibition in the US.

If you like eighties action movies, try Black Lagoon.
 
Based on what I remember being popular back in the Manga Video days, Black Lagoon and Baccano are both a good shout. I'd also suggest the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex tv series (quite a different experience to the 95 film), although all of these have been around a few years now.

More recent things that might appeal are Space Dandy (think 'anime Futurama' and you're more or less there) and the inescapable monster-hunting fantasy, Attack on Titan, both of which I think are on Netflix, if you're that way inclined.

Fake edit: And Redline. Seriously, watch Redline. It's a big daft sci-fi racing movie that wishes it were made in the 80s, and it is glorious.
 
Madoka is a masterpiece. I really love all the episodes, but if you're not sold on it yet, give until episode 3, that's when you'll see where it's going. Despite it's appearances, Madoka is definitely not skewing a younger demographic at all.

As for suggestions, it depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for a good Action/Shounen show, go with Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. It's a bit on the long side (64 episodes) but it doesn't waste a single one of them. It's probably tied with Madoka for my favourite anime of all time. It's got everything, great action, great story and great characters. It's an essential. Another show I'd recommend action wise is Hellsing Ultimate. It is an absolutely unrelenting thrill ride, very action packed and quite graphic in places and has some of the best action scenes of any anime I've seen. The show also has an absolutely ludicrous story whilst remaining completely straight faced which I loved. If the phrase 'Nazi Vampire London Invasion' interests you at all, definitely check it out. My third and final recommendation is Steins;Gate. This one is a sci-fi thriller centred around Time Travel. It has an amazing story and really great and memorable characters. Another one of my absolute favourites.

If you want more recommendations, check out my MyAnimeList page, I have rated each show I've seen and most of the shows I've watched have been post 2000 shows, so feel free to take a look:
http://myanimelist.net/animelist/IncendiaryLemon
 
Madoka is definitely worth staying sticking with.

If you like mecha shows, Code Geass is a must watch, while if you're into the more cerebral crime/thriller stuff I'd definitely give Death Note, Psycho Pass and Eden of the East a watch.

Then there's obviously the Evangelion rebuild movies if you want sheer spectacle.

If you're up to watching quote talky subtitle-only stuff then I'd suggest Garden of Sinners and Bakemonogatari.
 
Monster is a must
Higarashi is a must
Fate zero is a must
Baccono is a must
Wolf children is a must
Garden of sinners is a must
Death note
The count of monte cristo

Take your pick
 
the big popular shows of recent times are

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Attack on Titan
Stein's:Gate
Code Geass
Sword Art Online
Accel World
Toradora
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Fate/Zero
Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works
Hellsing Ultimate
Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Kill la Kill
Death Note
Monster
Parasyte
Baccano
Durarara
Psycho-Pass

I'm sure you'll find one you like in those 20, check out myanimelist . net to find out what's popular and such.
 
I was in a simular situation myself a few years ago and if you have a decent internet connect I would highly recommend streaming on legal websites such as Crunchyroll, Netflix, Viewster etc rather than blind buying for the time being.

Although, if you see Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood down to something silly like £20, you know what Amazon are like with their prices, then I would highly recommend picking that up. It was one of the best blind buys I ever had lol
 
GolGotha said:
I was in a simular situation myself a few years ago and if you have a decent internet connect I would highly recommend streaming on legal websites such as Crunchyroll, Netflix, Viewster etc rather than blind buying for the time being.

Although, if you see Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood down to something silly like £20, you know what Amazon are like with their prices, then I would highly recommend picking that up. It was one of the best blind buys I ever had lol
Click to expand...

To add on to this, unless it's been fixed, Netlfix only has the first 50 odd FMA:Brotherhood episodes for some reason. So keep that in mind if you choose to watch it that way. It really messed with me when I first watched it.
 
As other have said, you should stick with Madoka since even though it does start like every other magical girl series it completely changes in episode three and shows why it tore up the magical girl rule book.

Considering the availability of legal (and free for the most part) streaming services, you might want to get your own opinion of available series by watching either the first or first few episodes of it (viewster does have a few older series available of which some weren't released in the UK and are no longer available in the US), but some of what has been suggested might not be available through the available services.
 
I'd recommend:

Steins;gate
Shiki
Black lagoon

Their all pretty mature and have good Dubs
 
Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I can stream stuff so I have plenty to go at.

You'll be glad to know that I've changed my mind on Madoka, and see what you mean about waiting until episode 3. Well, I've watched the first 6 so far, and really like it, the dark edge to it is both surprising and very compelling. Also watched the first two eps of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and it is a fair bit different to the original film - for a start Kusanagi even smiles! lol

It's amazing to think how much more stuff there is now. A queston about story arcs. There are some series that have gone on for many, many series and also spawned films, etc. Are there any resources where you can find the best order to watch things withut being subjected to spoilers? For instance Madoka has 12 eps and three films (is that right?). Can they and should they be watched sequentially (aka, all 12 TV eps then the three films in order)?
 
For Madoka, I'm pretty sure the first two movies are re-caps, so I would watch the TV series fillowed by the third movie.

I don't tend to watch really long running series, which will state when things are a prequal or a sequel to things as well as if it's an adapatation to a manga or light novel. I'm sure someone can suggest something better suited for longer running series/movies though.
 
Anime News Network usually has the order for shows organised in its encyclopaedia too.

With long-running shows the usual rule of thumb is to watch the television series first since companies produce that to lure people in then hit them with pricey OAVs and movies later (there are some exceptions but in those cases the original adaptation tends to be rather famous first - once you're all caught up on your missing years you'll probably be able to recognise these). Even if the television series is produced second, they'll try to make that version as accessible as possible since it will be seen by a wider audience.

There are a few titles which tend to provoke heavy debate as to production order versus chronological order, so be warned that even when you think you know the right order to watch something in you might come across some furious flame wars from people convinced that there's only one correct way.

I won't add any extra recommendations for now as I think the others have given you plenty to be getting on with :D

To answer your old question about OAVs, the bottom largely fell out of that market a while ago but you do get the occasional experimental work. For the most part, modern OAVs tend to be spin-offs of established anime/manga titles which usually get bundled with games, manga volumes or other goods; the weirder stuff from the 80s/90s has migrated to the 10-13 episode television format, often with racier content in the home video edition if it would have been too risque for TV.

R
 
ChrisT said:
Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I can stream stuff so I have plenty to go at.

You'll be glad to know that I've changed my mind on Madoka, and see what you mean about waiting until episode 3. Well, I've watched the first 6 so far, and really like it, the dark edge to it is both surprising and very compelling. Also watched the first two eps of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and it is a fair bit different to the original film - for a start Kusanagi even smiles! lol

It's amazing to think how much more stuff there is now. A queston about story arcs. There are some series that have gone on for many, many series and also spawned films, etc. Are there any resources where you can find the best order to watch things withut being subjected to spoilers? For instance Madoka has 12 eps and three films (is that right?). Can they and should they be watched sequentially (aka, all 12 TV eps then the three films in order)?
Click to expand...
90% of the time you should watch things in the release order. I believe two of the madoka films are recaps though so :/
 
Welcome to the forums! So many of the obvious recommendations have been covered quite quickly, so I'll leave you to dive into those rather than coming up with anything extra. ^^;
 
Welcome! :D I find myself in a similar situation to yourself where I have not really purchased anime made later than the early 2000's (I'm 30 - so similar age too). I tried to get into Madoka via Netflix but just find it to be trope filled and also trying too hard. Three episodes was enough!

Hope you find something you enjoy!
 
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