The Anime Thread

[Monoriu]

That's from Nisekoi, or fake love.  A real romantic comedy show that is quite good and funny.  Basically, a very young boy made an unknown promise with a girl, and he has carried a locket ever since.  10 years later, multiple girls from his youth have resurfaced, all claiming to have a key that can open the locket.  On top of that, he is also forced to pretend to be lovers with the daughter of a rival gang leader to stop a gang war from erupting.  One guy and at least 3 major love interests, plus other girls. 

The clip above shows a rather typical anime "shipping war", where fans who support different pairings argue with each other over who will win in the end (the source manga is ongoing and there is no conclusion yet). 

Season 2 is being aired right now.

[Neil]

Heroic Legend of Arslan.  A story about a prince trying to restore his kingdom in a fantasy world with a middle east theme.  The selling point?  The source novel is written by the same guy who wrote the Legend of Galactic Heroes novels, and the manga version is done by none other than the manga artist of Full Metal Alchemist.  It is hard to find a superior pedigree in the anime world.   

Holy crap! Sold!

I'm not sold.

The OVA adaptation of Arslan ("Arislan"!) was an early favourite of mine, but the more I investigate the Manga (and it's storyline changes) and the character designs the less enthused I am about this adaptation.

Yeah, I remember loving the OVAs back in the mid/late 90s.  A shame the story was never finished.

[Monoriu]

Revolutionary Girl Utena.   Widely considered a yuri (i.e. lesbian) classic.  Utena (girl with pink hair) is a tomboy junior high school student who likes to dress in a boy's uniform.  When she lost her parents and her will to live at a tender age, she was comforted by a prince.  She was so mesmerized that she has decided to become a prince herself.  In order to protect her friend, she was drawn into a series of sword duels with the student council members, who were spurred on by letters from a mysterious entity known as "end of the world".  The duel winner will be engaged to the "Rose Bride" Anthy (girl with purple hair), and supposedly will eventually achieve the power to launch a world revolution.  That's crazy even by anime standards. 

This is one of the most memorable anime shows that I have watched.  The plot and the visuals are extremely surreal, loaded with an unholy amount of symbolism.  The duel swords are often sheathed deep within human bodies, nobody bats an eye about floating castles, people turn into cars, students duel each other in hyperspace because the end of the world said so, world revolutions are attempted because you don't like the way your future sister-in-law talks, a character uses a time watch out of the blue in every other episode but this is never explained etc.  It explores themes like yuri, rape, incest, (yes, all involving underage teenagers) etc, but everything is implied.  There are no explicit images, and surprisingly little blood is shown (the duels are decided by knocking off roses from the duelists' chests).  The comic relief episodes are batshit insane, and include things like searching for 9xx billion year curry powder in India while bumping into surfing elephants in the ocean, a rich bitch proudly wearing a cowbell and slowly turning into a cow, etc.   

I hate art movies, but this is 10/10 for me.  It does feel totally incomprehensible at times, yet the plot is internally consistent, and (some of) the weird stuff are eventually explained for a satisfactory ending.  Almost all the characters, even the minor ones, are memorable and meaningfully contribute to the show with their backstories.  It is unique and thought-provoking.  Despite being a yuri show, it isn't a crazy feminist one that blames the males for all the troubles in the world.  Everything is handled in a subtle way.  The "have to watch the next episode" feel is very strong with this one.  It is quite obvious that it is a below-average budget production, but the director masterfully used what resources he had to produce lots of iconic scenes and images.  I still think the guy is nuts though. 

Oh and, thanks to Lettow for recommending this.

[MadImmortalMan]

There is literally no character in that show that looks remotely male. Even the "boys".

[Monoriu]

There is literally no character in that show that looks remotely male. Even the "boys".

That's true, especially Miki, who is voiced by an actress no less.  But to be fair, pretty boys is a fairly common trope in anime.  See Gundam 00, Sailor Moon, and a ton of other shows.

[Syt]

A defense of the realism of the medieval combat as shown in Maria the Virgin Witch (set in 100 Years War):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tFOJFyTl1U

[Lettow77]

 I'm glad to hear you saw Utena, mono! There's a movie as well, but i'm not sure it holds up as well. The imagery is more ludicrous, if you could believe that.

I've been unable to watch this season of anime, but am eagerly awaiting the chance to watch Sound Euphonium and Heroic Legend of Arslan, both of which have high pedigrees to promise excellence.

A bit of Anime news, unnoticed by most, was the announcement of a new work in the Aria series- Aria the Avvenire. I'm cautiously optimistic, pending further news- I'd be ecstatic, except the source manga was fully exhausted by the existing series, and the author has subsequently had children, so it is unclear to what extent Mrs. Amano will play a role. Also, the cast is listed as returning- including the seiyuu for Athena, who has since passed away.

As Aria is in fact the most pleasing anime series in existence, even a muddled sequel will be enjoyed.

[Monoriu]

I'm glad to hear you saw Utena, mono! There's a movie as well, but i'm not sure it holds up as well. The imagery is more ludicrous, if you could believe that.

I've been unable to watch this season of anime, but am eagerly awaiting the chance to watch Sound Euphonium and Heroic Legend of Arslan, both of which have high pedigrees to promise excellence.

A bit of Anime news, unnoticed by most, was the announcement of a new work in the Aria series- Aria the Avvenire. I'm cautiously optimistic, pending further news- I'd be ecstatic, except the source manga was fully exhausted by the existing series, and the author has subsequently had children, so it is unclear to what extent Mrs. Amano will play a role. Also, the cast is listed as returning- including the seiyuu for Athena, who has since passed away.

As Aria is in fact the most pleasing anime series in existence, even a muddled sequel will be enjoyed.

Yes, I've seen the Utena movie.  I always watch everything in a series. 

I'll get to Aria sooner or later

The seiyuu for Athena is the same seiyuu for Utena, right?  I really like her voice and performance.  Sad to see her go at such a young age.

[Monoriu]

While the Utena TV series is a 10/10 for me, the movie is only a 7/10.  I don't think the story is suitable in a movie format.  I am somewhat glad and lucky that my policy is always to see the TV version first, and the movie version last.  If I saw the movie first, there is a chance I may abandon it.  There is far too much craziness and unexplained events that take place within an hour and a half to swallow.  The people turning into cars thing was a bit much, frankly.  It is more palatable in a 39 episode series where the weird stuff is released in short bursts. 

[Monoriu]

Seven Deadly Sins.  Ten years ago, a group of powerful but evil knights known as the Seven Deadly Sins conspired to overthrow the kingdom and murder the leader of the Holy Knights.  They were scattered, some of them presumed dead.   Now, Elizabeth, third princess of the kingdom, has embarked on a journey to find the missing Sins, for they are the only ones who have the power to defeat the Holy Knights who have now taken over the kingdom.  She finds Meliodas, the leader of the Sins, and the story is about their journey to reunite the other Sins and to take back the kingdom. 

This is a shining example of what an enjoyable shonen fantasy adventure/battle series should be.  At only 24 episodes, it is much more accessible than the enormous time sinks of Dragonball, One Piece and Naruto, each of them covering over 500 episodes.  Filled with awesome, heartwarming relationships, endearing characters, crazy fight scenes, and tearjerking moments, it does a much better job than mediocre recent attempts in the genre like Magi and Akame ga Kill.  In 24 episodes, it adapts about 100 manga chapters.  Compare this with the snail pace of One Piece, the reigning king of shonen in Japan, that adapts one chapter per anime episode, and you'll see how fast-paced this show is.  Yet it does a more than good job of developing the characters and advancing the plot.  Highly recommended for fans looking for action and adventure but don't have the time for hundreds of episodes. 

(the poster is deliberately designed to be misleading.  There are seven characters in the pic, but only four of them are the Sins.  The white-haired girl is the princess, the pig talks but can't really fight, and the pink-haired guy is a holy knight).

[Monoriu]

Parasyte.  Worm-like aliens invade Earth.  They enter the human body, take over the brain, kill the original host, then shapeshift into various human forms and devour other humans.  Other superpowers include turning cells into numerous fast-moving muscles, sharp blades, eyes and shields, and hyper-senses etc.  They are essentially shapeshifting killer machines that live among humans.  The protagonist is a high school student.  Since he wore headphones on the night of the invasion, the alien worm only managed to eat and replace his right arm.  Both intelligent lifeforms now co-exist in the same body and they must depend on each other to survive attacks from other parasytes, which can telepathically sense them from a distance. 

This is a horror science fiction thriller.  It is choke full of gore, blood, dead students, body parts, and fangs, blades, eyes appearing out of the human body and attacking other humans.  The anime opens with a husband literally opening up his head to reveal a large number fangs and eyes, then chopping off and eating his wife's head. 

It is one of the best thrillers since Death Note not just because of the constant stream of exciting battles.  It is a show of meaningful conflicts.  The protagonist and his alien right hand form a formidable battle team, but outside battles their philosophies are at odds with each other.  His right hand (named Migi, which means "right" in Japanese) is rational and emotionless, and prioritises self-preservation.  He forbids his host from telling his strange situation to anyone for fear of being taken to a laboratory.  On the other hand, the protagonist wants to help his friends and family against the parasyte threat, and constantly struggles with the question of whether he should turn himself in to share his knowledge about the parasytes.  The parasytes are not simply interested in humans as a food source.  They are capable of intelligent thought, and some of them want to learn more about humans, or even form organisations of their own.  Add a suspicious girlfriend (or two) and other teenage problems and we have a very interesting show. 

[Eddie Teach]

Add a suspicious girlfriend (or two)

Ample reason to be suspicious. Besides the other girlfriend, he's actually cheating when he masturbates...

[Monoriu]

Baccano.  The Italian word for commotion.  It is a unique anime.  The setting is prohibition era America, featuring an emsemble cast, non-liner story-telling, constantly shifting viewpoints, at least three parallel stories that take place in different years and each episode jumps back and forth among them, and no clear protagonist.  In one of the stories, three different groups try to take the same train hostage at the same time.  One wants to take the cargo, one wants to secure the release of its imprisoned terrorist leader, and the last one wants ransom from the train company.  The passengers include the family of a senator, a pair of robin-hood style thieves, several immortals, a newspaper informant, etc.  There is also an urban legend of a rail tracer who is reputed to haunt trains and kill passengers...

It is a difficult anime to get into.  Everything happens out of order, and there are at least 20 important characters out of just 16 episodes.  It is one of those shows that take at least two viewings before it makes sense.  But once a viewer gets past the steep learning curve, the show is very rewarding.  It is one of a kind.  The setting and style are unique in anime.  Even though each character only gets a small amount of screentime, it does a masterful job of establishing them.   This strange mix of mobsters, crazy antics, supernatural elements, and unusual story-telling works primarily because of its huge and colourful cast.  There is a crazy hitman who has sworn to kill his lover, who willingly follows him around.  A leader of a gang cries at the slightest bit of danger but has a huge tattoo on his face that makes him instantly recognisible.  A robbery couple who likes to dress in colourful costumes and steals things like candy and museum doors.  An explosives fetishist who blows open doors that have already been opened.  The show also wins the award for the best use of the phrase "your train ticket please" ever. 

[Syt]

I watched the first two episodes of that and have to say some of the environments are extremely beautifully rendered (e.g. NY Grand Central).

[Lettow77]

Mono is right- Baccano is great fun. It has extremely good use of Norio Wakamoto, and the robbery couple mentioned is delightful in every scene.