The Anime Thread

[Gilgamesh]

I love anime. I call myself a weeaboo, although I don't actually believe I am one. For the most part, I don't like shounen, I don't like ecchi-focused anime's and I don't like the ultra-cute, slice-of-life, school-girl anime's, that to every non-anime watcher, is all anime has to offer.

Here are some of the notable anime series that I've watched:
-Claymore
-Fate/Zero
-Wolf's Rain
-Mushi-shi
-Blade of the immortal
-Rurouni Kenshin
-Le Chevalier d'Eon
-Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
-Another
-Ghost slayers of Ayashi
-Angel beats!
-Hellsing Ultimate

My favourite anime is Fate/Zero. I strongly recommend you watch it. Just take this stranger's recommendation and do it.

For the people who believe this notion that all anime is 'cute' or 'girly', I'd suggest watching Claymore and Mushi-shi, off the top of my head.

Fellow weeaboo's of AF.org, engage in anime discussion!

[Kayenneh]

Mushi-shi is indeed brilliant. Me and the bf have recently started to watch Full Metal Alchemist. Other that I enjoyed watching are Ergo Proxy, Furi Kuri, One Piece and Galaxy Angel. In my DVD collection Love Hina, Fruits Basket, DNAngel and School Rumble can be found. Though I have to say, I prefer manga to anime and half of my bookshelf is filled with manga. My absolute favorite when it comes to anime is Hayao Miyazaki. I love his movies and if I have to pick a favorite, I would probably go with Spirited Away, since it was the first one of his movies that I watched and has a special place in my heart.

[Creed of Heresy]

You also forgot to mention the ultra-prentious, thinks-it's-deeper-than-it-actually-is-tripe. That's something a lot of other non-fans think most anime is full of.

I can't stand anime because most of the time it lacks any semblance of subtlety. It's blown way the hell out of proportion, it thinks it's saying more than it really is [if indeed it's saying anything other than what could be stated by popping some 'ludes, DMT, and smoking some meth and then being given a word processor], and the characters in it are almost always about as deep as the kiddy pool at the local community health center.

Still there's a few that have attracted my attention. Cowboy Bebop is one. Not just for its theme but also for the fact the characters are very well-develoepd and not ridiculously overdone. Trigun gets a 7/10 from me for its wild-west theming and its interesting basis though it loses points for its poor dubbing [and no, I am not listening to the non-dubbed version. If I want to read, I'll get a book. If you intend to sell to a demographic not your own, dub properly or just don't bother at all]. Inyusaha was an old favorite when I was in high school but as a grown-up it loses its appeal; too childish, too overdone. A shame. The characters had potential. Pity that potential never shined.

Ergo Proxy. Not popular enough. Dark, based in philosophy regarding the understanding of free will and the "raison d'etre" or the "reason to live/reason for existence," with a dystopian future kind of feel, and characters that are both relatable and developed and very likeable [even the otherwise-annoying robot girl is adorably intriguing]. Mostly its introspectives on the purpose of existence and its delving into the realms of the human psyche had me hooked, though Re-l had me grinning and drooling more than a few times. Without being overt, no less. An accomplishment. Granted, that scene where we're like 3 seconds from seeing all that we ever want to see was almost a bit too overt but since that sort of thing never came up again, I accept it.

Other'n that, nothing interests me. At all. They all run on cliches and stereotypes, and as a storyteller, I have to just come out and say; there's a neutralizing effect of same-y-ness that comes from far too many for my enjoyment. A lot of the time I find myself thinking "seen, experienced, thought, and heard this before." That's kind of the problem with anime; 1,000,000 different artists, 10 different styles.

But. That's just my opinion.

[frankiej]

I am not one to count out any genres of anime at all. I only recently started watching and reading shojo stuff and have really been enjoying it.

Anyway, some of my favourite series:

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
Dragon Ball
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
One Piece
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Rurouni Kenshin (manga only, I didn't enjoy the anime)
Steins;Gate
Hellsing Ultimate
Azumanga Daioh
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Cowboy Bebop
Outlaw Star

My favourite anime films:

Akira
Ghost in the Shell
The Girl who Leapt Through Time
Grave for the Fireflies
Porco Rosso

[Faith No More]

FLCL is the only anime series I've ever enjoyed. I prefer the movies including Akira and Ghost in the Shell as frankie mentioned, and I also really enjoyed Ninja Scroll and Appleseed.

[Gilgamesh]

Steins;Gate

I'm currently watching Steins;Gate bit by bit. It has a really slow, boring start, in my opinion. My friend has assured me that it picks up and turns into one of the greatest anime's ever, though.

You also forgot to mention the ultra-prentious, thinks-it's-deeper-than-it-actually-is-tripe. That's something a lot of other non-fans think most anime is full of.

I can't stand anime because most of the time it lacks any semblance of subtlety. It's blown way the hell out of proportion, it thinks it's saying more than it really is [if indeed it's saying anything other than what could be stated by popping some 'ludes, DMT, and smoking some meth and then being given a word processor], and the characters in it are almost always about as deep as the kiddy pool at the local community health center.

Still there's a few that have attracted my attention. Cowboy Bebop is one. Not just for its theme but also for the fact the characters are very well-develoepd and not ridiculously overdone. Trigun gets a 7/10 from me for its wild-west theming and its interesting basis though it loses points for its poor dubbing [and no, I am not listening to the non-dubbed version. If I want to read, I'll get a book. If you intend to sell to a demographic not your own, dub properly or just don't bother at all]. Inyusaha was an old favorite when I was in high school but as a grown-up it loses its appeal; too childish, too overdone. A shame. The characters had potential. Pity that potential never shined.

Ergo Proxy. Not popular enough. Dark, based in philosophy regarding the understanding of free will and the "raison d'etre" or the "reason to live/reason for existence," with a dystopian future kind of feel, and characters that are both relatable and developed and very likeable [even the otherwise-annoying robot girl is adorably intriguing]. Mostly its introspectives on the purpose of existence and its delving into the realms of the human psyche had me hooked, though Re-l had me grinning and drooling more than a few times. Without being overt, no less. An accomplishment. Granted, that scene where we're like 3 seconds from seeing all that we ever want to see was almost a bit too overt but since that sort of thing never came up again, I accept it.

Other'n that, nothing interests me. At all. They all run on cliches and stereotypes, and as a storyteller, I have to just come out and say; there's a neutralizing effect of same-y-ness that comes from far too many for my enjoyment. A lot of the time I find myself thinking "seen, experienced, thought, and heard this before." That's kind of the problem with anime; 1,000,000 different artists, 10 different styles.

But. That's just my opinion.

Judging by the anime you've listed, I can see why you may not like it all that much. You've barely scratched the surface of anime (again, judging by what you listen only.) Another thing is, if you're not willing to watch original audio with subs, you're not gonna' get far with anime. I know how it is; when you're not accustomed to reading subs, they're your biggest fear. I used to be the same way; I refused to watch anything in original audio. Now, I will always choose original audio over an English dub. The Japanese language is fucking awesome.

[Darkstar]

The Japanese language is fucking awesome.

Seconded. I used to hate subs, but after watching mostly subs in anime club, they're growing on me. Oftentimes I even forget that I'm reading the subtitles and just fuse the text with the spoken voices without even putting in any conscious effort.

[Kayenneh]

Another thing is, if you're not willing to watch original audio with subs, you're not gonna' get far with anime.

I watched Pokémon and Digimon as a kid and quickly learned that dubs aren't worth shit. We have the cheapest and laziest dubbing team here in Finland, let me give you an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T_TLBZxY4U

Yeah, after this, it was Japanese all the way

[Gilgamesh]

Kayenneh, that's unbearably bad.

[Kayenneh]

Yeah. And they have dubbed nearly every Saturday morning cartoon they showed on Finnish TV. My childhood was nearly ruined