Topic: Anime shopping list

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Fist of the North Star is has always been cool, in a Reggie-KICKING-ASS kind of way.

Wasn't the Fist of the North Star reference in GTO simply FORKING AWESOME!?>@

[Metaphysical Spirit]

Haha! Yeah! I forgot bout that! Definatly "Forking Awesome!" Heh. Reggie Kind of Way is right.. damn straight!

[evil intentions]

Quote
Originally posted by: Metaphysical Spirit
Has anyone else besides me liked Fist of the North Star? Heh. I hear you on the Case Closed evil intentions. I watch Adult Swim everyday.. Remind you that, that's the ONLY time I watch TV. I was really disappointed that they took off Inuyasha for Case Closed, though I know they still have it the un-aired (On Adult Swim) on Saturdays and waiting for the next season or whatever. It's a good idea for a show, and I can see how it can be good.. but ehh, I just don't like it. For Adult Swim, I thought it was weak.

Yeah, Inuyasha was a lot better than Case Closed, even though they only showed reruns.  It's still on on Saturdays I think.

[Gremio]

Here are some of my favorites, I've seen all in original Japanese language either with or without subtitles so I can't comment on the dubbed versions - and I hate dubbed anime too:

my favorite anime (some of these are kinda old):
- Berserk - serious and pretty gorey but I thought it had excellent characterization and plot
- Crayon Shinchan - funny, TV episodes, I'm not sure if they sell these on video/DVD but I used to watch this on the local Japanese channel and liked it a whole lot.
- Cowboy Bebop
- Kimagure Orange Road - comedy, deals with relationships a lot - it's been a looooong time since I've seen this and I'd actually buy it if I knew where to get it.

I just have to mention this because a lot of people on an anime site had also recommended Neon Genesis Evangelion to me and I almost bought the whole set... luckily I rented it and it was okay in the beginning but by the time I'd watched the whole thing it turned out to be one of my most hated anime to date. I know opinions differ, but I just wanted to warn you that there are a few out there  (like me, for instance) who can't stand EVA. Of course you might like EVA a whole lot after all, you never know. ^^;;; *hides under a rock*

anime movies I liked:
- Urusei Yatsura: comedy, also been a long while since I've seen this - it mainly revolves around high school student Ataru Moroboshi (and his friends including bad tempered ex-girlfriend Shinobu) who's one of the worst if not the worst womanizers in the universe whose girlfirend, Lum is an alien (some sort of alien Oni).  It gets really wacky and funny, especially the antics between Lum and Moroboshi. My absolute favorites were "Only You" and "Beautiful Dreamer." I've seen five or six of the movies and liked them all.
- Spirited Away
- Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)
- Tonari no Totoro (in English, My Neighbour Totoro)
- Nausicaa  
- Castle in the Sky

[CHEN]

Well, finally I've decided on the contestants. The reason was that I've been given 80 recommendations in total and that is way too much. So I've devised a simple solution. Here it goes. I'll put four groups with each four contestants. You can vote for your favorite or one that fits the description. Since it's hard to choose your favorite, I've thought of a point-system. You get 6 points with each group and you can divide it any way you please. Since not all of you have seen every anime listed here, I think this is fair. For the lazy ones, you can type the number with the points given after that. Let's get ready to uhm... vote!

Group A: Hot Mech on Mech Action.

1. Gundam Seed
2. Macross Plus
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion
4. Zone of the Enders
Points go to: mech design, action, animation, story

Group B: High School Wackiness
1. Abenoboshi Magical Arcade
2. Azumanga Daioh
3. Great Teacher Onizuka
4. Love Hina
Points go to: hilariousness, cuteness, romance, love-hate relationships

Group C: Action, Sci-Fi, Comedy? It has it all.
1. FLCL
2. Full Metal Panic
3. Last Exile
4. Trigun
Points go to: originality, story, fantasy, action, humor

Group D: Boo! Scared you, didn't I?
1. Berserk
2. Boogiepop Phantom
3. Hellsing
4. Serial Experiments Lain
Points go to: shock-value, plot, drama, horror, mysteriousness

As for movies, I've listed every movie, since it doesn't need a lot of investment. It has the same system as above, only you have 10 points now. For the lazy ones type number, then points given. Happy voting.

1.   Akira
2.   Castle in the Sky
3.   Castle of Cagliostro
4.   Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
5.   Ghost in the Shell
6.   Grave of the Fireflies
7.   Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
8.   Jin-Roh
9.   Kenshin
10.   Kiki’s Delivery Service
11.   Laputa
12.   Metropolis
13.   Millenium Actress
14.   My Neighbour Totoro
15.   Nausicaa
16.   Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
17.   Perfect Blue
18.   Porco Rosso
19.   Princess Mononoke
20.   Spirited Away
21.   Tokyo Godfathers
22.   Vampire Hunter D
23.   Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
24.   Wings of Honneamise
25.   Urusei Yatsura

Phew, that was some research. Sorry if I excluded your best anime. Don't hate me. You can always persuade me. I really appreciate you all for giving me advice. It shall not be forgotten. I'll update the scores every day, that is if you want to vote and not be a lazy ass.   Thanks.  

[Metaphysical Spirit]

Pssh! You forgot the Cowboy Bebop Box Set of the Series! I'd vote for that!

Ehh.. The lazy ones is me.. and I'll get around to voting. You can settle for that!

~Fear the Aggressive Coconut!

[Famicom]

Quote
Originally posted by: Metaphysical Spirit
Pssh! You forgot the Cowboy Bebop Box Set of the Series! I'd vote for that!

Only the Bebop boxset was a Limited Edition item, and has long since been sold out. Unless you like dropping $400 on eBay when you can (and always could) get the individual discs for cheaper.

[Metaphysical Spirit]

Really? Sweet, I own it and didn't even know. It was supposed to come with the soundtrack, but it didn't and I was disappointed. Though I later bought it.  

[Syl]

Well, I'd consider Full Metal Panic in the Mech category, But i find "RahXephon" to be my fave show involving giant...uhh..well...In RahXephon, they aren't robots, theyre something completely different....I don't watch many mech shows, so i can't really say much.  

As far as high school wackiness, FMP could also fit in there...(Espicially fumoffu) anyway, GTO wins that hands down, that show is one of the best, as mentioned repeatedly.

FLCL can't be missed, as much as i absolutely love Last Exile, Its just simply not as great as  FLCL.   Trigun is something that has to be seen as well.  Last exile isn't actually all out in america yet, sadly, So I'd just hold out on that. (The episode cliffhangers are SICK)

Also, R.O.D - The TV - is something you need to look at once its released.  The first set of it comes out before the end of the month.

Hellsing is not scary, not in any way.  I also don't think its that good of a show.
Berserk is also not really "Scary" its incredibly gorey, and quite disturbing, but there isn't really anything that'll deeply disturb you.  

Boogiepop Phantom, on the other hand, has quite a few scenes that will disturb you, It'll make you think about life itself, and overall is just one of my favorite series.  which is good, because its probably one of the cheapest anime's i've ever seen.  (Get the ultra edition limited edition if its still out anywhere, i got mine for $50 at bestbuy quite a while ago)  
Boogiepop is also an acquired taste though, you really have to think throughout the whole thing.

Lain is one of the cheaper shows now due to the Geneon Signature series, at only $13 a DVD... I'll be buying it soon, once i finish getting all of the games i need to buy.  

Movie Wise..
Nausicaa
Wings of Honneamise
Princess Mononoke
Millenium Actress
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Grave of the Fireflies
-anything else with miyazaki.

you should NOT under ANY circumstances watch End of Eva without seeing the series first.  NEVER EVER even think about doing that.

[Famicom]

And speaking of Milennium Actress, director Satoshi Kon's films are all great. He's done Milennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Perfect Blue. Also his latest work, the TV series Paranoia Agent, gets its american release in October. It's pretty creepy and sweet.

[CHEN]

Well, I'll be leaving tomorrow. I'd like to thank everyone who contributed.

This is the somewhat big list I'll be looking for:
Abenobashi Shopping Arcade      13
Azumanga Daioh         26
FLCL            6
Fruits Basket         26
Full Metal Panic         24
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu      15
Gundam Seed         52
Love Hina            25
Macross Plus         4

All the others I can probably get here or watch on TV.

One last question, are there any significant differences between the various publishers Anime Studio/Anime Club, Anime Cartoon/Manga Internation, Animation Studio, FX, MAC, AC-MAC and Live Movie?

Some collections have differences. I'll post an example.
http://www.import-anime.com/index.php?page=view&item_id=3205&type=1
http://www.import-anime.com/index.php?page=view&item_id=3246&type=1

Both are complete collections by different companies, but one has 1-11 episodes while the other has 1-15 episodes. I don't want to buy something and realize it misses some episodes. I'm confused...  

Same with these two.
http://www.import-anime.com/index.php?page=view&item_id=2415&type=1
http://www.import-anime.com/index.php?page=view&item_id=2583&type=1    

[Syl]

Fumoffu is odd like that, certain episodes are actually 2 seperate 10ish minute shows.   But it takes up 11 full shows time total...but because of that, theres 15 total episodes.

make sense?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

CHEN:  many of those "publishers" are Hong Kong *bootleggers*.  That's why prices look "good" compared to domestic releases.

[CHEN]

Yeah I know, but there are virtually no official releases that includes Chinese dubs and subs. Since the grey market is so popular there. Besides every anime store in Hong Kong is filled with bootlegs. Some are good, some are plain awful. That's why I'm concerned I'll get ripped off. I'll just see which ones include English dub and sub and I'll check if its quality is at least understandable. Many thanks, guys. I'll report back if I'm in an Internet café or something.

[Syl]

whatever happened too

Quote
and Syl, I tried to avoid piracy at all cost and buy in the big stores like FHM or specialised anime stores, where the chance of piracy is almost nil.

>_>

Honestly, if your going to bootleg, at least don't give someone else money for it.  Not only are you stealing, but your also encouraging far more of it.

[CHEN]

Oops, well I just have to see. Some are like 26 episodes that are released with 2 episodes each. If it's very expensive, then I'll have to buy a cheaper complete collection. But not the very cheap ones, since their quality is bad. I always was bad at telling something is either legal or illegal. Besides, those companies are not publishing something illegal. The ones that are recorded straight from the TV are the ones illegal and the ones I avoid. Besides it's better than downloading from bittorrent, is it not? [Gannondorf]Can you ever forgive me?[/Gannondorf]

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

It doesn't matter where they obtain their footage.  They might record off TV, or they could just as easily rip the video streams from the Japanese DVD's.  When you look at the general 'price per episode/collection' from the HK version and see that they're considerably less than the 'price per episode/collection' of the Japanese releases, you're likely looking at unlicensed products -- which are simply illegal.  Since these distributors/bootleggers are not paying royalties to the original publishers/owners, they can afford to sell these copies at reduced prices.  They also "steal" english subtitle scripts from fansubbers, or they sometimes have their very own weird translations (one version of Hellsing, dvd quality picture, had lines like "suck it with all your consciousness!"  which sounds utterly strange).

Same thing applies to HK-distributed soundtracks.  For example, I bought an original copy of the complete 2-disc Love Hina TV soundtrack for about $35 directly from an importer that gets their stock from Japan.  Another importer, who gets their stock from HK, sells an identical version of the soundtrack for around $12; the printing of the slips and cd isn't so vibrant and sharp, and it came under the publishing label "SM" for "Son May Records."  Son May is NOT the official publisher of this soundtrack.

Son May is a HK pirate.
Anime Cartoon is also a HK pirate, and there are many others.

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

*has a massive seizure*

I can't believe no one recommended the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA.  It is my favourite anime.  Goes to show all of you have bad tastes.  Not only are the character designs excellent, but each episode is executed fantastically.  And the humor and jokes?  They timed and delivered brilliantly.  I can't tell how many times I've nearly killed myself laughing. the onsen scene in ep. 4.  Washu nurse scene in ep. 7.  heck, the whole of ep. 7.  A lot of people say there is no plot in the series, but there is.  If you pay attention carefully and/or watch it multiple time, you will realise there is a deep and complex plot (and that's accounting the books too which go into even more detail, also by creater Kajishima-san.)

Oh ya, Kajishima-san and AIC; hurry up and get ep. 17 (OVA3 ep. 4) out.  The suspense is killing me.

[Garnia]

 In my opinion, the best anime's are Inu-yasha, (which is good if you want to watch something long), Rurouni Kenshin, (Also very long for an anime series), Evangelion, Hack Sign//:, and Generater Gawl. I hope that was of any help. Oh! And if you need any suggetions of good places to buy anime dvd's, my favourite website would be www.kcdvd.com

Ciao!

[KDR_11k]

Hm, I kinda liked Mahoromatic (Captain Obvious strikes again, eh?)...

[Syl]

Oh, I bought Excel Saga last week.  Absolute best price i've ever seen for any official anime, EVER.
The entire 26 episode box set was $60 at bestbuy, and they had 4 of them when i went in and snagged one,  so theres a chance your bestbuy might as well.

The Show itself is rather....strange, completely off the wall humor, rather offensive (espicially that final episode).  Yet, somehow, the thing that surprised me was how it all ended up coming together into an actual plot.

...I also really badly want a Menchi!

I just wanted to mention that excel Saga for $60 is an absolute STEAL (and the DVD's have an absurd amount of extras, the "menchi pop-ups" are some of the best extra's i've seen for anything, ever.) and i would highly suggest that you check if your bestbuy has it as well.

If you want more info on what excel saga is...well, i can attempt to do that.

[S-U-P-E-R]

I'm addicted to Initial D

I hear the American dub sucks though, but I wouldn't know

[DrZoidberg]

I'm trying to find the Stage 4 dvd of Initial D. Also, the best part is how Iggy said Tak was a noobie.