Hello friends, I want to start watching anime. I've watched Highschool of the Dead, Ghost in the Shell 2, the Cowboy Bebop movie, and the Death Note, but I feel like those probably don't represent "good" anime. I'm completely out of the anime community, and therefore know nothing about quality. Can you kind people (i'm looking at you Sac) please direct me towards some?

If it matter, I enjoy sci-fi and space based fiction, but really am down with absolutely anything.

I'm not an expert but I can definitely say that death note is good anime.

Yeah, I really really enjoyed it, and Ghost in the Shell as well. I just feel like there should be a lottt more that just isn't known to me, you know?

Gundam 00 is space-y and pretty good, but I should suggest Code Geass before Az does. If you're interested in movies Miyazaki stuff is top tier (although most people have seen those, even if they don't watch anime).

Death Note is usually suggested as a great starting point. But some other sci-fi stuff includes Mirai Nikki (more serious) and Trigun (more comedic).

I'll check all those out, thank you!

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I'll second Trigun; I've watched it through about three times. It's only like 26 episodes and is watchable in both subs and dubs. It does have some serious tones in it, even if it is on fun-mode the majority of the time.

There's supposed to be a cat in every episode, so that's something to watch for as well.

*groans* I hated Death Note. I couldn't even finish it. I didn't like Mirai Nikki that much either, though the end (of the manga) did pull things together nicely and saved the series in my eyes.

I will second the Gundam series. If you enjoy that, you'll probably enjoy Blue Seed or Zoids.

You should really watch the Cowboy Bebop series too, and if you go down that path (along this path is also Trigun) Outlaw Star is a good place to continue, and Noir.

Then of course there's the lighter side of anime with Dragonball (not Z), Lupin III,Sailor Moon (also, original is what I'm referring to here), Pokemon...and so on. I kinda call this (along with Inuyasha and Rurouni Kenshin) the "roots" of anime, because it was the first presence I saw of it in the states and it presents a lot of the quintessentials of mainstream anime.

Then there's the blow-your-fucking-mind experimental animes out there. I seriously and strongly suggest everyone who wants their mind blown to see Serial Experiments Lain. It helps to put this anime in the this frame of mind: it was made in 1998, Futaba Channel was founded in 2001, and the 'hacktivist group anonymous" was...what, like 2010? It will blow your fucking mind this anime will. Also in this category is Blame!

I don't really watch that much anime, but I hope this somehow helps.

Honorable mentions: D.N.Angel and Fruits Basket. I didn't see much of D.N.Angel, but what I did see I liked. AND FRUITS BASKET IS SO CUTE

I'M GOING TO GO WATCH SOME NOW.

Avatar: Legend of Aang, and Avatar: Legend of Korra. Not technically anime but both excellent.
Castle in the Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, basically anything by Miyizaki. For manga/manhwa, Tower of God is good (not animated, just a comic).

If we're going for like-but-not-anime I think the original Transformers series was American, and if you like mecha that's a staple.

Want some romance?
School days


Want time travel?
Steins;gate

want dragonballz gotta beat the bad guys I will never give up?
TOPPA TENGA GURREN LAGAAN (fuck yea, start on this)



You want something that is airing currently?
Kokoro Connect


You want Comedy?
nichijou


You want to cry?
5 centimeters per second


You want tits?
sekirei


You want badly drawn tits with comedy?
Panty and Stocking


You want over the top maximum high overquality animation that took 7 years to produce?
RedLine



My taste > your taste :3
Also Code Geass if you want a GOOD Deathnote

Post has been edited 4 time(s), last time on Aug 16 2012, 5:00 am by MadZombie.

Black Lagoon, Steins;Gate and Darker Than Black should be some good titles to continue with. Durarara!! is also worth mentioning.

Everything Jack said here is everything I would recommend for someone just getting into the genre or starting to want more of it.

Everything MZ listed, I have watched and enjoyed except for some of the more ecchi stuff (Gurren, Seki, and Panty).

I especially suggest Mirai Nikki, 5 Centimeters Per Second and Steins;Gate. If you are okay with a bit darker/confusing stories, Elfen Lied and Higurashi (When the Cicadas Cry) are fantastic as well.

A few others worth mentioning at least:

Ergo Proxy
Highschool of the Dead
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Tenchi Muyo

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Aug 16 2012, 3:54 pm by LoveLess.

I'm surprised it took FMA this long to be mentioned come to think of it. I can't watch it. I tried...but it has this level of brutality I'm uncomfortable with

Also, Tenchi Muyo ommmg stalgia.

Full metal? I dislike it for the constant yelling. They always go chibi form and start XD random yelling. Really takes away from the plot. I can barely get past a single episode without wanting to just close the video.

:c

She means the original FMA, not Brotherhood.

Yep. That fucking episode.

I couldn't watch past that. It was too horrific to me.

Theres always the mainstream suggestions, haha. I personally liked S-Cry-Ed, Gun X Sword, Ninja Scroll, Noein, and Samurai Champloo (which is iffy on the anime part, much more american). A great movie to check out too would be Strait Jacket.

And of course gurren lagaan, code geass, darker than black, and FMA.

Edit: oh and i forgot about outlaw star. That was good as well.

Samurai Champloo isn't American.

Yeessss! Moar love for Outlaw Star!