Anime - recommendations

[LARF]

I've got Akira and Spirited Away, love really good animation and a decent storyline etc. bit adverse to the extreme way anime sometimes goes when it comes to Japanese culture and translation, so could anyone recommend any other Anime DVD's in a similar vain to the above two?

Cheers

[Rex Banner]

Princess Mononoke.

By the same director as Spirited Away.

[Steamboy]

Steamboy, from the same mob that did Akira but really different.  If you want to go for a series Trigun's a pretty good one, funny and has some really cool Hard Sci-fi idea's in it(and unlike alot of Anime quite easy to get you head around).
Blood The Last Vampire is a spectacular piece of animation only problem is it goes for 45minutes(when you get to the end your left feeling a bit..Is that it?).  Cowboy Beebop is another top series but its about 26 or so episodes so a big comitment if your gonna go for that one(It's kinda like a Western but in space) there is also a Cowboy Beebop Movie called Knocking on Heavens Door that holds up pretty well as a stand alone.  If you want just a big dumb action movie type anime see if you can get hold of Spriggan, cool ideas and top animation.
For something a bit more cereberal look out for Serial Experiment Lain, but be warned this one is an absolute slow burner, bugger all action and the idea's are maybe just a bit obtuse if you dont watch anime much.

tonnes more just cant think of titles at the moment(got a collection of atleast 100 DVD's at home)

CU Steamboy

[LARF]

Is Steamboy out on DVD then?

[Steamboy]

it is in OZ, its actually released by Paramount Pictures and had a fairly decent cinema release over here. Available on Region 4 DVD not sure about you guys though, I'm sure someone from over there will pop up and let you know.

CU Steamboy

[CraveNoir]

Tokyo Godfathers If you enjoyed Spirited Away you should take a look at this. The story and art are both excellent.

Dead Leaves is like DR & Quinch meets Ren & Stimpy via Fritz the Cat. It's smutty, ultra-violent chaos that'll hurt your eyes.

FLCL (AKA Fooly Cooly or Furi Curi) is a six part TV show about two teen girls, and a boy who has robots coming out of his skull. It's quite lyrical, weird, and there's something very Roald Dahl about it.

Paranoia Agent is a 13 part TV show that is so well written that you don't even notice how beautiful it looks. It's about the hunt for a person on roller-skates who attacks people with a baseball bat, or rather it's about the people he attacks. You couldn't possibly not like this show, except perhaps for episode 5 which is bizarre. Made by the same guy who did Tokyo Godfathers.

Blood the Last Vampire is a showcase for digital techniques. It's very accessible in that it doesn't use the usual line style you'd expect in horror anime -- in fact bits of it look like Frank Quitely and Steve Dillon.

Last Exile this site. These are films made by very small teams of people. I'm looking forward to seeing Kakurenbo, and Negadon (the one to the right of Kakurenbo. You've got to see the trailers for Negadon. It's like miniature vehicle SFX porn (except it's CGI).

Link: http://www.animeondvd.com/" target="_blank">Anime on DVD

[LARF]

Just had a gander on Amazon, not available in Europe till January - I must get a multi region DVD player....

Thanks for the advice by the way, Anime is something I really like but have never had the time to look into what's hot and what's not and been meaning to ask the board for a while on what to get.

It all started after seeing the Floating Island of Laputia when i was about 13, then Akira and the other day I also got Memories out of the DVD hire place. Have also got the Animatrix which is quite good in parts...

Spirited Away is by far though my favourite, just to see the way my nieces were enraptured by it when I played it for them the other day, why can't other kids cartoons be more like this - you know, kind of subconciously moralistic but entertaining. Outstanding stuff and the techniques and dedication that go into making it are pheonominal.

[Thursday]

Damn, Steamboy beat me to it.  Anyway, Blood: The Last Vampire is too short, and leaves a lot unanswered, but it's absolutely, stunningly beautiful.  Seriously, it's worth watching for the art alone.  

Cowboy Bebop (the movie) is pretty decent and, like Steamboy said, it works perfectly well as a stand-alone story; you don't really have to have seen any of the series to enjoy it.  There're some classy fight sequences, good art+animation, decent plot... oh, and the opening credits alone are worth watching the film for.

The series is similarly good, though the fact that it's 24 (or so) episodes spread over five DVDs might put you off.  Some of them can be watched as stand-alone stories, but about half tie in to a larger story arc and should be watched in order.  The plots are pretty high quality right the way through, and despite the simplistic set up--bounty hunters going after the baddies--the stories tend to be more mature and unpredictable than you might expect.  Overall, well worth a look.

[Steamboy]

a new one from Myazaki(sp) thats due out real soon is Howls Moving Castle, I haven't seen this one moving yet but the Character and world design is up there with spirited away(same guy).  I'll agree with Carnivore Dead Leaves is just one crazy mixed up cartoon which would definatly appeal to those that enjoy DR & Quinch type craziness, oh and its got a character named Drill Dick in it(exactly as the name sudgests).
Read Or Die is another good stand alone disk to look for, the Miniseries not the TV series(which is good too just long)good for Kids and dults.

CU Steamboy

[Bart Oliver]

Really *anything* by Hayao Miyazaki.

http://www.animationinsider.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/water2.JPG>

Porco Rosso (The Red Pig?!) is a personal favourite.

Found these model sheets on the net a while ago;

http://modelbox.free.fr/dossiers/miyazaki/MDreams_P/img1.jpg>

http://modelbox.free.fr/dossiers/miyazaki/MDreams_P/img2.jpg>

http://modelbox.free.fr/dossiers/miyazaki/MDreams_P/img3.jpg>

Blood TLV and Metropolis are also must-see films IMHumbleO.


B.

[ming]

I picked up Appleseed a while back - the recent version, not the crappy 90's one.  A bit like a pop video at times, but on the whole, great stuff!  Great big robots / exo-armour and lots of guns - what's not to like?

Link: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/appleseed.html" target="_blank">trailer

[Bico]

Samurai Champloo - Two samurai do their best to put off their fight to the death so they can accompany a girl on her journey to find another samurai who smells of sunflowers, all set to a hip-hop soundtrack and featuring some of Japan's top rappers in various roles in the show.
Last Exile - great retro-futurist show that expands on the steam-punk technology from shows like Laputa and Porco Rosso to create something unique, and atypical of Japanese anime in many ways - not least its lengthy backstory that demands the attention of the viewer.
Gundam Seed Destiny - the latest incarnation of the great-grandaddy of all giant robot shows.  You can stick your minimalist animation Evangelion bollocks up its overrated arse (where its head is) - this is anime that takes giant robots and has them smash each other's big robot faces in each week, whilst kids whine about how they don't want war and violence and stuff, completely missing the point of the show.  The producers make up for the limited animation budget (about one in ten episodes is a clip show) with some fantastic design work on characters and technology, and there are some great action set-pieces.
Spriggan - incredibly dumb action movie based on a manga from yonks ago, but enjoyable on its own terms, if only to make the viewer think that Hollywood should be making films as dumb and as entertaining as this on a regular basis, rather than Catwoman.
Samurai 7 - serialised version of the Akira Kurosawa cinematic masterpiece, with a few minor changes to modernise the story.  Instead of bandits, for instance, the samurai battle hundred-meter tall robots with office-block sized swords, one of the samurai is a foul-mouthed robot and it takes place on an asteroid several thousand years in the future.  Apart from that, though, the story remains the same.
Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad - teenager discovers the joys of rock music.  That's all.  Daft as you like, but with a curiously believable air of teenage ennui that fortysomething American tv show writers have forgotten by the time they sit down to write the latest teen-centered crapathon featuring twentysomething and thirtysomething actors pretending to be teenagers.

[Tweak72]

i saw Sky Blue recently and thought it was very very good i think its korian
ive been meaning to have a look at the 'Ninja Scroll 10 anaversary' DVD as it is in my opinian a classic and am mulling over cheaking out the series

[LARF]

Ming - that looks awesome!

Thanks very much for all the advice here guys, looking forward to trawling and choosing...

Cheers
M

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000A2FCPG/qid=1124977829/sr=8-2/ref=pd_ka_2/026-5280014-4526827" target="_blank">amazon - out on the 19/09/05

[Bart Oliver]

++ Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad - teenager discovers the joys of rock music.  That's all.  Daft as you like ++

Heh heh, makes top of my to-watch list by that discription ;)