The Anime Thread

[8BitAtheist]

Subbed and dubbed.

[Gilgamesh]

Anyone seen any of the Studio Ghibli films? Princess Mononoke was great.

[Darkstar]

Anyone seen any of the Studio Ghibli films? Princess Mononoke was great.

Yes, it was. Studio Ghibli is unbelievably amazing...
I've seen Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, and Arrietty. My least favorite was Ponyo, which was good but not great, but the others were excellent

[8BitAtheist]

I've seen every current Studio Ghibli full length film multiple times as well as a few "minis" or OVA's.
"Princess Mononoke" & "Porco Rosso" are tied as my favourite.

"Spirited Away" is a close second while "Porco Rosso" I consider the most adult. "Grave of the Fireflies" and "Pom Poko" also hold a special place in my heart.

Also I'm eagerly anticipating "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", especially considering my interests in Japanese history, culture, and fiction.

[Gilgamesh]

All of you should go watch my favourite anime; Fate/Zero.

Fate/Zero takes place 10 years prior to the events of Fate/stay night, detailing the events of the 4th Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City. The War of the Holy Grail is a contest in which seven mages summon seven Heroic Spirits to compete to obtain the power of the "Holy Grail," which grants a miracle. After three inconclusive wars for the elusive Holy Grail, the Fourth War commences.
Founded by the Einzbern, Makiri, and Tōsaka families centuries ago, the Einzbern family is determined to achieve success after three successive failures, no matter the cost. As a result, they have elected to bring the hated magus killer, Kiritsugu Emiya, into their ranks, despite his methods and reputation as a skilled mercenary and a hitman who employs whatever he can use to accomplish his goals. Though Kiritsugu had once wanted to become a hero who could save everyone, he has long since abandoned this ideal upon realizing that saving one person comes at the cost of another's life. For the sake of humanity, he will ruthlessly destroy anything and anyone who threatens the peace of others.
However, Kiritsugu finds himself deeply torn between the love he has found for his new family - his wife Irisviel and their daughter Illya - and what he must do to obtain the Holy Grail. Meanwhile, Kiritsugu's greatest opponent appears in the form of Kirei Kotomine, a priest who cannot find any sense of fulfillment in his life and sets his sights on Kiritsugu as the possible answer to the emptiness he feels.

The 7 heroic spirits materialise under 7 unique classes called 'servants.' Saber, Archer, Lancer, Caster, Rider, Assassin and Berserker. Based on their class and their legends, they gain unique abilities. Heroic spirits are beings that accomplished great achievements such as saving the world and, after their death, became the object of worship and lore. Regardless of the authenticity, as long as the information about an individual is enough widespread among humans of any given age, a Heroic Spirit can be materialized from them. Since heroes are known through their stories, information available about them is always composed by what is actually true, what was fictionally created in legends and what was omitted and is now forgotten. Hence, Heroic Spirits can be influenced to a degree by what is known about them in the modern world. All Heroic Spirits possess Noble Phantasms, which are unique relics or anecdotes that are connected to their legends. Noble Phantasms are used as catalysts to reenact legendary feats

Every heroic spirit, summoned as a servant to contest in the holy grail war, is summoned by a Master. A Master is an individual, usually a Magus, who has formed a contract with a Ghost Liner type Familiar, for the purpose of acquiring the Holy Grail. There are no actual restrictions on how the contract is used, when it is made, or how long it lasts, but the Servant inevitably has goals of its own. The Master provides the Servant with Prana and a sort of "passport" into the modern era in return for the services of said Servant. Masters only occur through the power of the Great Grail. The Grail both selects prospective Masters according to their need and provides the majority of the energy needed to manifest and maintain the Servant. It also provides the Command Spells which grant limited control of the Servant to the Master. The Master must formalise a contract with the Summoned Servant by acknowledging their respective roles. The process creates a link between the two, allowing the Master to support the Servant with their Prana or an external source.

Sound interesting? It should because it's the best anime out there.

[Utracia]

Oh you have one of these! Nice. I'll through a few out:

Beck
Black Lagoon
Claymore (though the manga is better)
Code Geass
Cowboy Bebop
Darker than Black (1st season)
Elfen Lied
Ergo Proxy
FLCL
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Full Metal Panic!
Genshiken
Ghost in the Shell
Gungrave
Higurashi series
Nana
Neon Genesis Evangelion (until the pretentious last couple episodes, bleh)
Spice and Wolf
Steins;Gate
Tengen Toppen Gurenn Lagenn (first half)
Toradora
Welcome to the NHK

Films:
Akira
Grave of the Fireflies
The Girl Who Lept Through Time
Spirited Away


And perhaps to the annoyance to the above poster I found Fate/Stay Night to be one of the most overrated pieces of crap I ever had the misfortune to view. If only Saber dumped that stupid guy it would have been so much better.

[Gilgamesh]

And perhaps to the annoyance to the above poster I found Fate/Stay Night to be one of the most overrated pieces of crap I ever had the misfortune to view. If only Saber dumped that stupid guy it would have been so much better.

Absolutely not to my annoyance. Staynight is utter trash. Zero is gold, trust me.

[Utracia]

And perhaps to the annoyance to the above poster I found Fate/Stay Night to be one of the most overrated pieces of crap I ever had the misfortune to view. If only Saber dumped that stupid guy it would have been so much better.

Absolutely not to my annoyance. Staynight is utter trash. Zero is gold, trust me.

So Saber isn't a pathetic character because of an even more pathetic guy? Assuming she is in it that is.

[Gilgamesh]

So Saber isn't a pathetic character because of an even more pathetic guy? Assuming she is in it that is.

Zero is different (and better) in every way. Way better animation done by a superior studio. Exclusively mature. Deeper characters and does a better job of detailing their past. Zero isn't a shounen, where Staynight is.

I recommend Fate/Zero highly. I've left a lot of people happy with this recommendation. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

[Gilgamesh]

Here, you can see Ryuunosuke accidently summon Caster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyzV1SMGKw0
(I fucking love this duo.)