Best Anime TV Series?

[TSDesigner]

I just watched the whole Dragon Ball Z saga, all 276 episodes.
Now I'm watching Dragon Ball GT, which is great!
So what should I watch after that?
What are the best anime tv shows besides Dragon Ball, Speed Racer, and Kimba the Lion? Anything good dubbed in English or subtitled?
Oh, I just remembered I wanted to watch Space Battleship Yamato. That should be cool.

Does anybody know the title of that old black and white Japanese movie (live action) where a giant samurai statue comes to life and starts attacking stuff? I think it probably had a giant robot too.

 

[Athenian200]

Serial Experiments Lain
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Ghost in the Shell
Death Note

Though that's just my taste... I don't know if someone with your tastes would like those.

 

[Snow Turtle]

If we're talking about action variety. I've just included the opening scene but some really good action ones would be:

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WhXPricbTs"]Claymore[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OuRajFzMYI"]Samurai Champloo[/YOUTUBE]

For the more non serious lighter comedy. One of my greatest suggestions would be

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg9ZNixv5-E"]Nodame Cantabile OP[/YOUTUBE]
A romantic comedy anime about musical college. Basically about an IXTJ and an EXFP developing a bond.

For a more serious ones with some underlying messages behind it. There's so many but some would be...

[YOUTUBE="qcjLT-EOrPA"]Welcome to NHK OP[/YOUTUBE]
About a social outcast (Japan has a problem where people lock themselves away)

[YOUTUBE="VTEMxvCbem0"]Kaiba Opening Song[/YOUTUBE]
Err... Storyline for this is a little wack, but essentially it explores the mind/body problem and what memory is.

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSf-oQiiX0o"]Kino's Journey Movie OP[/YOUTUBE]
A traveller exploring different societies (Example: What a place would be like if everyone had telepathy. Or a society constantly searching to create a culture.)

[YOUTUBE="CxY0ALI7izo"]Haibane Renmei opening[/YOUTUBE]
Slow paced anime exploring what appears to be rather christian like themes...

 

[Fluffywolf]

I personally really really like Claymore and Wolf's Rain.

They are nothing like DBZ though and I personally dislike DBZ, and absolutely don't like One Piece. Taste just differ I guess.

The closest to that type of anime that I don't 'dislike' and has parts I did enjoy is Bleach. It's not a masterpiece of seriousness, coolness, plotness, character development and emotionness as Claymore and Wolf's Rain. And has some weird fillers and has hard to follow timelines because of it. And it has a tiny bit of ecchi but very mild and quite acceptable as well, and has a good transition between the 'lame' parts and the more serious parts. And is also humorous during the 'lame' parts and actually makes it work on a more intellectual level without being too cliché. As well as being fairly helpful towards character development. So all in all, not a bad anime with pretty cool fights and some neat storylines. But definatly not my favorite.

 

[TSDesigner]

Just because I mentioned DBZ, it doesn't mean that's all I like.
It's just that it's hugely popular, so I was exposed to it because of that.

But I saw an episode of "Lucky Star" recently and I definitely don't like that.
It's incredibly boring. But for some reason it's popular with 4chan.

 

[Litvyak]

Wow Kai, some of these are my favorites

Apart from Kino's Journey, Kaiba, Haibane Renmei and Wolf's Rain, I recommend...

1. GitS SAC
2. Monster
3. Legend of the Galactic Heroes
4. RahXephon

AWESOME shows.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Oh, and also, I hate dubbed anime's personally. Especially since anime's are usually based on fantasy worlds. Japanese language with subtitles just seems to fit much better. Also, dubbed anime's often distort quite some sentences to fit the screenplay, and you're often left with quite lame dialogue, whereas the subbed version has a much more interesting dialogue. For me, dubbed takes away quite a bit of quality.

Just my two cents.

 

[nonsequitur]

Code Geass and Lelouch rule all.

Lucky Star is popular because it's otaku/geek bait. I love it myself because of the numerous hilarious references. Similarly, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu is awesome.

Here is a Lucky Star clip that illustrates everything that I love about it:
[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhjhjVpaAVk"]Lucky Star Awesomeness[/YOUTUBE]

I can't think of a "best" series, just series from various genres that I really enjoyed.

 

[Snow Turtle]

Just because I mentioned DBZ, it doesn't mean that's all I like.
It's just that it's hugely popular, so I was exposed to it because of that.

But I saw an episode of "Lucky Star" recently and I definitely don't like that.
It's incredibly boring. But for some reason it's popular with 4chan.

Lucky Star contains alot of Otakuism references and in general is just crazy silly. If you haven't really watched much anime, and don't really identify with gaming geeks then it's best to steer clear of these sort of anime.

BTW for Weeaboos... Genshiken is very good.

Here is a Lucky Star clip that illustrates everything that I love about it:
[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhjhjVpaAVk"]Lucky Star Awesomeness[/YOUTUBE]

Haha. That purple haired person Tsukasa's pretty amusing with the Chomp Meat HP! Along with the "Not released" part... =.=

I couldn't get into Lucky Star, but I hear it changes after the first few episodes from the "What sort of food do you eat?"

 

[nonsequitur]

Lucky Star contains alot of Otakuism references and in general is just crazy silly. If you haven't really watched much anime, and don't really identify with gaming geeks then it's best to steer clear of these sort of anime.

Haha. That purple haired person Tsukasa's pretty amusing with the Chomp Meat HP! Along with the "Not released" part... =.=

I couldn't get into Lucky Star, but I hear it changes after the first few episodes from the "What sort of food do you eat?"

Yeah. It is really silly, but awesome. I used to game, so most of the gaming conversations are hilarious to me. The rest of the anime references everything, including SHnY (tonnes of them), Maria-sama ga miteru, Code Geass, Hatsune Miku, individual seiyuu, cosplay cafes, anime conventions, eroge and harems. Pure otaku bait.

Tsukasa's the airhead. I still crack up every time at "Tsukasa, press enter". I think the chocolate cornet conversation pretty much puts everyone off... But by the end, you really come to care about the characters. I wish there was more.

 

[TSDesigner]

OMG that lucky star clip's dialogue is just as dreary as the first episode where they talk about food.

Maybe sensors like that sort of thing better than intuitors.

 

[Fluffywolf]

OMG that lucky star clip's dialogue is just as dreary as the first episode where they talk about food.

Maybe sensors like that sort of thing better than intuitors.

I couldn't watch that stuff either for very long, even though I have gaming esperience and some levels of geekness in my system. So you might be right. It's probably mostly an S thing.

Such shows or clips could not hold my attention for longer then 5 minutes, even if they were funny.

 

[nonsequitur]

I doubt it's a sensor/intuitor thing, since Kai's with you on not being able to get into it, and she's an ISFJ. I'm an INTJ.

I think it has more to do with how otaku/geeky you are, and how many references you catch. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to a casual anime watcher. Same with Hayate no Gotoku, which is excellent as a gag/otaku anime but wouldn't attract a huge following outside of that crowd.

Apart from that, it also depends on what genre you're into. I watch everything except serious romance and mecha (Code Geass being the exception).

Oh yeah, and as a general recommendation - Full Metal Alchemist. It's pretty popular and hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[Snow Turtle]

I couldn't watch that stuff either for very long, even though I have gaming esperience and some levels of geekness in my system. So you might be right. It's probably mostly an S thing.

Such shows or clips could not hold my attention for longer then 5 minutes, even if they were funny.

Agreed with nonsequiter. I suspect that even though you are a gamer, you aren't an asian MMORPG fan. Personally I found some of the references in that clip amusing but that's because I play anime-esque style MMORPGs such as Ragnarok Online, Seal Online etc. Different type of gamers/geekiness.

I'm not exactly sure how you managed to jump to the conclusion of it being an S/N thing especially considering that people often hold a stereotype that SJs aren't interested in silly things that don't make much sense. Lucky Star is the sort of anime that has a huge amount of bouncing around places. Think about it, it's a contradiction in beliefs. But yeah... I don't really want to get into an argument about all this so I'll stop here.

Other anime series... Some that are my favourites that I'd recommend.

The Twelve Kingdoms
Baccano
Kaiji
PlanetES
Last Exile
Dennou Coil
Ef~ A tales of memories (I just like the idea of someone forgetting stuff)
Ghost Hunt (Sucker for paranormal ideas)
Ghost Hound
Hidimari Sketch (Rather relaxing...)
Noein (What better than... alternative space dimensions and time!)
xxxHolic

Movies...
The girl who lept through time
My Neighbour Totoro
Kiki's delivery service

There's so much variety in that. You'll be hard pressed to find whether people are drawn to one thing or another. Depending on your preferences there's so many options. Currently I'm watching Kemono no Souja Erin

 

[Haphazard]

Hmm...

Cowboy Bebop
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Mushishi

I don't know if you'd like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya because it's got a lot of references to other works that you're probably not familiar with and otakuisms but it isn't just 'silly' like Lucky Star and actually does have a plot.

Both Mushishi and Cowboy Bebop are very episodic. The first is action-y bounty-hunters-in-gritty-space and the other is a more monster-of-the-week mystery thing -- the plot isn't that great but the art is gorgeous.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Agreed with nonsequiter. I suspect that even though you are a gamer, you aren't an asian MMORPG fan. Personally I found some of the references in that clip amusing but that's because I play anime-esque style MMORPGs such as Ragnarok Online, Seal Online etc. Different type of gamers/geekiness.

I'm not exactly sure how you managed to jump to the conclusion of it being an S/N thing especially considering that people often hold a stereotype that SJs aren't interested in silly things that don't make much sense. Lucky Star is the sort of anime that has a huge amount of bouncing around places. Think about it, it's a contradiction in beliefs.

Well, then the SJ stereotype is wrong too, since I don't like silly things that doesn't make sense either. Anime wise, I like plotlines, storydepth, character development and originality. So yeah, not that many anime I enjoy. ;(

 

[Liminality]

If we're talking about action variety. I've just included the opening scene but some really good action ones would be:


[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OuRajFzMYI"]Samurai Champloo[/YOUTUBE]


For a more serious ones with some underlying messages behind it. There's so many but some would be...



[YOUTUBE="CxY0ALI7izo"]Haibane Renmei opening[/YOUTUBE]
Slow paced anime exploring what appears to be rather christian like themes...

+1 for Samurai chaploo,

And Haibane Renmei, I think it's based a tad on some Haruki Murakmi stuff.

Bleach was really good right up until the bountou arc T_T.

Ouran High school is something I recommend to everyone just for the sheer hilarity. It's more for the girls but not exclusively.

I've also always had a soft spot for HunterxHunter, not quite sure why.

If you're into horror anime, Higurashino naku koro ni is pretty good.

Full Metal Alchemist is good too.

All I can think of presently...There is of course always CCS ...

Ooh and Ponipani dash, it's a kind ofslice of life, surrealist, pop culture anime.

 

[nonsequitur]

Well, then the SJ stereotype is wrong too, since I don't like silly things that doesn't make sense either. Anime wise, I like plotlines, storydepth, character development and originality. So yeah, not that many anime I enjoy. ;(

I think Lucky Star is less about "making sense" and more about spoofing a variety of things, deconstructing every simple thing in life to a ridiculous level. i.e. reductio ad absurdum. It's more observational humour than anything else.

Kai:
Ef can be pretty damned depressing. As far as movies go... anything by Makoto Shinkai is a winner.

Liminality:
I thought about recommending Ouran, but so far the preference seems to be for "serious" series. I loved Ouran... but I have a weakness for gag/harems. In this case, reverse harems are also hilarious.

I also thought of recommending Aria, but it's slice of life. Not much in the way of "plotlines".

 

[Snow Turtle]

Well, then the SJ stereotype is wrong too, since I don't like silly things that doesn't make sense either. Anime wise, I like plotlines, storydepth, character development and originality. So yeah, not that many anime I enjoy. ;(

Most of the ones I listed contain all those elements, but perhaps I have lower standards than you do. Have you checked out the ones I put there?

All I can think of presently...There is of course always CCS ...

w00ty for CCS.

Kai:
Ef can be pretty damned depressing. As far as movies go... anything by Makoto Shinkai is a winner.

Yeah. I haven't seen the others but some of the scenes in memories was rather thought provoking, especially when there are people out there in the world with memories that only last a few minutes. It left me wondering what is left of a persons identity if it's gone so easily...

There was that crazy stalker/obsessive phonecall scene as well!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3YlL40Lrlo&feature=related]Phonecall[/youtube]

 

[nonsequitur]

^ Ugh, gives me the shivers. Which reminds me - SHAFT's animation style is very unique. I really want to see Bakemonogatari (the new SHAFT anime that's been getting excellent reviews) when it's out on DVD.