49 replies to this topic

[Cero]

So I decided to make a thread where we put down good Anime/Comics/Manga. Mainly because I feel that it would be cool to just have a big list of animes/comics/mangas that the forum thinks is good.

So basically state an anime/comic/manga that you think is good (make sure to say which category it is) and give a couple sentence summary as to why it is good.

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (Manga/Anime)

Magi is great it has likeable characters a detailed plot even though it doesn't look like it would also the setting and characters are based of the Arabian Knights. So to say this is probably one of the most original animes I've seen. Anime is very fast, manga is better paced with more content both are very good though.

Anime:
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Serial Experiments Lain
Fate/Zero
Psycho Pass
Slayers NEXT/TRY
Gundam 00
Code Geass
Martian Successor Nadesico
Kids on the Slope
Clannad
Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin)

Manga:
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin)

Comic:
God of Highschool

I will add more of mine if people actually post.

[kirant]

I'm sure my first pick would be obvious giving my posting nature...but:

Anime: Serial Experiments Lain
Genre: Psychological/Cyberpunk

Comments: Lain is what I really think can set anime apart from other genres: It's so niche that it can try stuff nobody else dares (as oppose to the relatively "safe mode" existence the area is in these days). Want to make a symbolically driven, slightly creepy, show which treats story as secondary? Go ahead. It's not a show for everyone (those who prefer action, titillating fanservice, or "cute girls doing cute things" need not apply). On the other hand, it really pushes the envelope on what anime really is and is fundamentally so different that it's easily worth multiple watches. First time is pointless. Second is to nail the story. Third time and past lets you look for subtleties and amazingly well placed references.

[Seraphinox]

Psycho Pass
Genre: Crime, Psychological, Philosophical, Detective

Fascinating show that just finished airing a few days ago. Interesting plot with a lot to say about our perceptions of society and what we believe. Story revolves around a police unit in the future who are agents of Sybil, a system that uses scans and mental check-ups to determine whether people are dagerous to society or not. Things go tits-up when people who are unaffected by the judgings of Sybil show up and are seemingly immune to the law.

Go watch it

[Fire Blazer]

That sounds kind of interesting. Actually, it sounds very interesting. How violent/gory is it? Are there are a lot of mature themes? Pretty much am I going to have to watch a ton of blood and organs and other stuff because if so I'll pass 'cuz I'm a pussy

Also hi Seraph

[Seraphinox]

Nothing in the way of gore. Maybe 10 violent scenes total (people being shot/blown up)

Very mature themes, starts off slow in the first 4 episodes and then just picks up the pace, some episodes have great action, others great dialogue, and then some just ram philosophical language and ideas down your throat so that you need a break before you can watch the next episode so that your brain can process everything you just read.

At only 22 episodes long, it's a damned worthy investment!

[Fire Blazer]

okay, sounds like I can handle it. I meant more of like stuff people might find gross since I usually find myself so focused on trying to not care that I can't actually enjoy the shows, if that makes sense

Psycho Pass... *puts on very small list of things to watch, very long list of things to do*

[Mercurius]

There are some scenes with extreme gore because of how the Dominator likes to do things, though they aren't really that high in number and they don't last long. The very first episode shows one or two, if I recall correctly.

Also, some references may be difficult to get, though these aren't really that important to know about.

Oh and HYPER OATS.

I'd add a work but how much I actually like something and how "high quality" I think it would be for most people is fairly different so eh.

[kirant]

QUOTE (Seraphinox @ Mar 25 2013, 02:36 PM)

Nothing in the way of gore. Maybe 10 violent scenes total (people being shot/blown up) Very mature themes, starts off slow in the first 4 episodes and then just picks up the pace, some episodes have great action, others great dialogue, and then some just ram philosophical language and ideas down your throat so that you need a break before you can watch the next episode so that your brain can process everything you just read. At only 22 episodes long, it's a damned worthy investment!

Closer to [C] - Control or Lain?

[Mercurius]

I think it's closer to [C], but it's different enough for comparisons to be ineffective in telling of what it's like. I haven't seen Lain in forever, though.

[Seraphinox]

Yeah, it's closer to C than it is to Lain

Objectively, the best show I have seen is Fate/Zero, everything about it is perfect, and has one of the best written characters I have ever seen.

[Cero]

Well this suddenly got active! 0_0

[Seraphinox]

I've watched a lot of stuff, and most of the people I meet IRL can't talk about anime objectively, they just fangasm over their favourite character with a big sword and won't hear any points you have to say against their favourite show even if it's well reasoned and backed up

It's nice to talk to people who have their own opinions and look at more than just the spikiness of the hair of the main character

I've watched a lot of crap though...

[kirant]

I'm not sure we're allowed to go twice, but for similar reasons, I'd throw up one of Slayers NEXT/TRY.

(EDIT - Fixed. Added the "not" in the above)

Slayers NEXT and TRY show their age a little on the visual side of things, but it's got a rare intangible of being a great entry show and a good addition to a viewing lineup. Want proof? Check its rating. It generally holds up amazingly for its age considering the "What have you done for me lately" mentality of the reviewing sites. It's in some extremely elite company. Of comparable age and rating, it's in the audience of Rurouni Kenshin and Berserk of similar genre, Neon Genesis Evangelion if you're going for really well known shows.

It does a bit of everything: makes you laugh, makes you cry, warms your heart...and is still fundamentally anime in style, never deviating from the designed target audience or its story of being a high fantasy. It contains filler, but by far some of the best filler I've seen. Actually, these are probably the best episodes since the writers can cut loose and do whatever they want.

Slayers NEXT holds one of the few romances I can get really into (though king is still Maison Ikkoku, if you can get over your own personal emotions of 30 year old values in traditional Japan culture). Over 26 episodes, it feels like a natural drift from close friends to an actual romance. Kind of. It's never touched on again in the sequels. But I digress, it's well played out. Slayers TRY provides a beautifully orchestrated questioning of right, wrong, and exploring the concepts of "might makes right" in a simple, easy to digest show.

Really, where I'm heading is that Slayers can be what you want it to be, wrapped in a nice, inoffensive package. Simple, cheap action? Check. Loving, touching romance? Check (for 1 season). Magnificent philosophy? Check.

QUOTE (Seraphinox @ Mar 25 2013, 07:53 PM)

I've watched a lot of stuff, and most of the people I meet IRL can't talk about anime objectively, they just fangasm over their favourite character with a big sword and won't hear any points you have to say against their favourite show even if it's well reasoned and backed up

Same, but I have this problem even on the internet. I have only met one or two people who are willing to take objective looks at anything. And I'm the only one I know who reads pseudo-technical papers on aspects of anime (in particular, my much disliked moe phenomenon).

[Mercurius]

QUOTE

fangasm over their favourite character with a big sword

sup

QUOTE

I'm the only one I know who reads pseudo-technical papers on aspects of anime (in particular, my much disliked moe phenomenon).

I read those sometimes but I typically forget about what they said (in detail anyway)

i'd probably only remember anything if I tried to like, study them or something

[Cero]

Can I ask you guys to state whether what you are posting is and anime, manga, or comic? Makes it easier for me as I don't have to look for words that corresponds to one of the categories.

Anyways my next anime would be Gundam 00 (Anime)

Gundam 00 is a great show. The visuals are nice and sort of ruined the other Gundam series because this one being my first one and since I loved the visuals it was hard to move onto the older ones. Anyways Gundam 00 features a lot of politics along with the action in the show and makes it so that you are not just seeing pretty flashes the entire time. The cast of the show is actually very good with some you love and some you love to hate. Also with the story following a terrorist group aiming to end war you can actually find yourself easily rooting for people instead of the main characters since basically the world are the characters. Also there isn't really a concrete good and bad to most of the characters.

Being only 50 episodes some of the plot points are underdeveloped but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the show.

(This was really badly written, I'll probably come back and rewrite this when my mind isn't shot)

[Fire Blazer]

Heard a lot about Fate/Zero... as usual though, I'm reluctant to find out about it for fear of getting into it and having it suck my life away >_<;

I would mention One Piece, but it's one of the big-names, and I feel like this is more about the lesser names in manga/anime so it'd probably get beat down if only because it's a big name and it's super popular and most of all, it's a Shonen.

So instead, I'll go with... hm... can I mention a manhwa? I guess it'd go under "Comics" since it's not a Japanese comic.

There is this one called God of High School that, well, I'm not too fond of the title but I bit my tongue and read it and it's really interesting IMO. The story is pretty basic but it's in full color and the fights are fun to just page through, like comics back before they became super srs business. The basic story is that there's this kid named Jin Mori (everyone has Korean names since it's a manhwa) and he gets invited to a competition in which the winner gets any one wish they desire. The competition has high-school fighters from all over trying to become the GoH. Then commences a story with very well-drawn fights IMO, with every fight being unique and interesting, and it starts off very focused on just many different types of martial arts, some totally real, some totally made-up, and some a mixture, but as the fights get more complicated transitions into a world where there are two types of fighters: people who fight with pure martial strength alone, and those who fight with... special abilities (it's kind of major spoilers), with each person having their own unique special ability (and it's more unique than just "this guy is of the fire element!" and "this guy is of the ice element!" and "this guy has the higher level/GP!" unlike some anime/manga I know where whoever has the greater friends-power or whoever has the greater magic power always wins... XP).

Tbh I don't read/watch much manga/anime so I'll run out of suggestions really quickly... gonna take it slow and let you knowledgeable people do most of the talking XD

[Mercurius]

Jin Mori sounds like it could be a name in either language (so much, I have no idea which one it would fit more in...)

[Seraphinox]

QUOTE (Blazer @ Mar 26 2013, 06:46 AM)

Heard a lot about Fate/Zero... as usual though, I'm reluctant to find out about it for fear of getting into it and having it suck my life away >_<;

It's 25 episodes long so it's not too much of an effort to watch, do what I do with some shows, watch the first episode, then put aside 20 minutes a day/every 2 days to watch an episode. you'll get it watched in 25 days maximum.

Of course, I said I'd watch an episode a day with FMA: Brotherhood which is 64 episodes long. I watched that in 3 days...


^Also I just noticed you have a Madoka signature, oh the year Madoka came out, good times!

[Shu]

Code Geass for anime, both seasons.

It's a bit more mainstream than some of the other ones mentioned in the thread, but since we're doing a deal of connecting anime to philosophy, I figured it'd be a good one to mention.

It's rather new, I think it came out in 2007 (not sure on this), so the art style and animation aren't aged. Thus, if older animation can be a deterrent to you, you won't have that problem.

Code Geass sports a great storyline with multiple twists, oftentimes leaving me grabbing my head and saying "Oh, SHIT!" right out loud. As for the philosophical components, there's a under curing conflict taking on the question of "Do the ends justify the means?". Really fantastic, excellent example of a more modern classic.

[Fire Blazer]

Sorry, it's actually written Jin Mo-Ri.

Other names include

Jae Kal-Taek
Han Dae-Wi
Cha Suk-Woo

Etc.

Korean names.