The Anime Thread

[Josquius]

Everybody in japan seems to like one piece. It gives you something to talk about. That being said I've only ever read the first chapter of the manga. It doesn't appeal to me at all. I really should try watching the first series at least to have a basic idea of what it's about.
The time investment point is really true about reading but with anime... There's not so much awesome stuff out there

[Monoriu]

Everybody in japan seems to like one piece. It gives you something to talk about. That being said I've only ever read the first chapter of the manga. It doesn't appeal to me at all. I really should try watching the first series at least to have a basic idea of what it's about.
The time investment point is really true about reading but with anime... There's not so much awesome stuff out there

Like I said, you have to stick around until the Arlong arc.  Just like Madoka.  You just have to stick around past the first two episodes. 

[Lettow77]

I find it very hard to credit both of you when you say there isn't enough awesome stuff out there. I still have a swelling list of things I would like to see, and I suspect I've seen more than either of you. Practically speaking, more comes out each season than I can watch, and it's a rare season that doesn't produce around five passable shows. Five episodes a week is a lot when there's already an endless backlog of material to unearth. I've actually yet to watch Berserk, which is enormously acclaimed; I'm looking forward to finally watching it among other things.

[Monoriu]

I find it very hard to credit both of you when you say there isn't enough awesome stuff out there. I still have a swelling list of things I would like to see, and I suspect I've seen more than either of you. Practically speaking, more comes out each season than I can watch, and it's a rare season that doesn't produce around five passable shows. Five episodes a week is a lot when there's already an endless backlog of material to unearth. I've actually yet to watch Berserk, which is enormously acclaimed; I'm looking forward to finally watching it among other things.

There is no doubt in my mind that you've seen more anime than me.  I haven't even heard of most of the stuff that you mention.   

Yeah, I have an enormous backlog to go through as well.  But like I said, I find One Piece to be a very enjoyable show.  It doesn't belong to my top 10 list, mainly due to its extremely slow pace.  I am however prepared to consider it if I were to make a top 20 list though. 

Berserk eh?  I will check it out. 

[jimmy olsen]

Everybody in japan seems to like one piece. It gives you something to talk about. That being said I've only ever read the first chapter of the manga. It doesn't appeal to me at all. I really should try watching the first series at least to have a basic idea of what it's about.
The time investment point is really true about reading but with anime... There's not so much awesome stuff out there

Like I said, you have to stick around until the Arlong arc.  Just like Madoka.  You just have to stick around past the first two episodes.

I just hate the fucking art style and that carriers over from the manga to the anime. Read like three chapters and just couldn't do it.

[jimmy olsen]

Lettow, have you seen Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi? It's great and I think it's right up your alley.

[Monoriu]

I almost forgot.  The Arlong arc in One Piece was broadcast like 14, 15 years ago.  They recently remade that arc into a 2-hour TV special.  All the visuals and voice acting was redone.  Not a bad way to try to get into the series. 

It is called Episode of Nami. 

[Lettow77]

Abenobashi is great, but its a little too lewd and irreverent for my tastes. It is something like Tatami Galaxy meets Tamako Market.

The celebration of the almost anachronistic shopping streets that Tamako Market and Abenoshi both engage in is really charming to me; Tamako Market suffered from poor story direction and is regarded as a failure for Kyoto Animation, but I like it more than anything they've done recently. Its saccharine warm tone is closer to what I look for in anime than Abenobashi; both are underrated anime worth someone's consideration.

[Monoriu]

Code Geass, also known as Lelouch of the Rebellion, is one of my most favourite anime shows and is a huge success on an international scale.  It is a faux-mecha show.  There are tons of powerful mechas, but they are not central to the story like Gundam.  The focus of the story is about how Lelouch makes use of his superpower and his brains to scheme his way toward his objective. 

In this alternative timeline on Earth, Britain never lost the 13 colonies.  It successfully established a huge social darwinist empire that covered several continents.  Japan is part of the empire and its name has been taken away, only known as Area 11.  Lelouch is a genius student, and he wants to lead the Japanese resistance movement to overthrow the Britannian empire.  That sounds like a pipedream, until he met C.C. (the girl with greenish hair), who granted him a form mental superpower.  Code Geass is the name of the superpower. 

Code Geass is a fast-paced and complex story with a huge cast.  Lelouch himself is a genius chessmaster but an average mecha pilot.  He comes up with crazy wild schemes and can be very ruthless, but also has a caring side, especially for his little sister.  It is very addictive to see how his schemes unfold.  They sometimes work, but also backfires spectacularly other times.  It is one of the most engaging anime stories I've seen.  50 episodes and 2 OVAs. 

They are releasing a new OVA series set in the same world but features a different cast called Akito the Exiled.  2 episodes released so far but is not yet complete.   

[Monoriu]

Kara no Kyoukai, also known as Garden of Sinners.  Kara no Kyoukai means boundary of emptiness. 

What I expected: Yuki Kajiura music, gorgeous visuals by UFO table (the folks behind highly acclaimed Fate Zero), source novel by Kinoko Nasu, the mastermind of the Fate universe, main female lead voiced by Maaya Sakamoto. 

What I got: all of the above.  Plus: murder mysteries, philosophical babbling, mind screw, more blood in an anime than anything I have seen so far (except maybe Elfen Lied), super complex plot, gore, detailed rape scene, cannibalism, a special 30-minute episode that consisted of nothing but 2 people talking to each other about philosophical stuff for, yes, 30 minutes. 

Don't get me wrong.  If you can swallow all that, it is a really good show.  The story is interesting, the visuals are wonderful, and the characters endearing.  Basically, it is about a small detective agency that specialises in solving murders or crime involving the supernatural.  Shiki, pictured above, is the primary hitman of the agency.  She of course has a most unusual background and her own supernatural abilities.  That, and she is a knife nut. 

Garden of Sinners is unique in that it is not a TV series.  It consists of a series of 8 movies, and 2 roughly 30-minute special episodes.  The total running time is roughly equivalent to 2 seasons, or 26 episodes. 

It is also one of the most difficult to understand shows I've seen.  There are two problems: the show expects familiarity with the source material and its complex concepts.  Two, this anime loves showing things out of order.  The first movie is about the detective agency solving murder mysteries without any introduction to the background of the major characters.  These are only slowly revealed in subsequent movies.  They love doing it even within the same movie. 

[Eddie Teach]

detailed rape scene,

Were tentacles involved?

[Monoriu]

detailed rape scene,

Were tentacles involved?

No.  It was handled realistically and seriously.  Also extremely sad and disturbing.   

Kudos to Noto Mamiko for her superb performance throughout the entire movie.  It was worth it just to hear her voice. 

[Monoriu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Snl7mkZ-zI

This song just rings in my head all day.  Imagine the death of a loved one and listen to this song.  Yuki Kajiura magic at work. 

She is too lazy (just kidding.  She is such a workaholic that workaholics call her scary) to name the soundtracks used in Garden of Sinners though.  8 movies, with like 30 tracks for each.  That's like two to three hundred tracks.  So she just named them M1, M2, M3, ...

[Siege]

is Black Butler any good?

[Monoriu]

is Black Butler any good?

I've heard about it, and it is on my long-term to-do list.  Haven't seen any though.  Supposed to be quite popular and there is a film version with real actors.

The reason I've heard about it is because of this -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I9UxxhFxGs

Excellent insert song by Yuki Kajiura.