Question for anime people

[Fatalfugus]

I'm not a HUGE anime fan by any standards, but I've found a few of them that I would count as my favorite things I've ever seen on TV.

At risk of sounding hipster, I really don't like the "big name" series. Naruto, one piece, pretty much anything that you hear about on a regular basis has never interested me...

The point of all this is I'm trying to find a new one to watch, and I don't know enough to find out which one is worth my time of looking into. My current favorites go as follows:

1. Serial Experiments: Lain

2. Elfen Lied

3. Gungrave

4. Last Exile

5. Ergo Proxy

Others: NGE remakes, Claymore, Berserk

The more philosophy and character depth, and preferably the darker the atmosphere, the more I'm going to like it. Do you guys have any suggestions?

If this gets answered really quick, we can turn this into a general discussion thread or a "What's your favorites!?" type thing.

 

[Yuki Harada]

Well, one of the anime series I watched which I thoroughly enjoyed (even though nobody has heard of it) was D.N Angel

 

[seita]

You and I have very similar tastes. I would add Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Sword Art Online in there to name a few. Big names I watched were Naruto and Bleach before they became slow crap, ( still read them ). I'm looking forward to the new series of Hajime no Ippo, recently announced, sooo stoked.

 

[AcosmicDevi]

I'm currently watching Shiki. One I've enjoyed watching in the past that may interest you is called Another.

I'm a lot like you. I don't like anime that's everyone is fawning over. I guess that makes me a hipster otaku too

Edit to add:

Ooh, ooh, ooh. Samaurai Champloo. Totally agree that is a great anime with lots of character.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

I stopped watching bleach and naruto because of the high amount of fillers...

I still watch one piece when they're on the part where there's a fight...

SAO is one of my favorites... and Accel World...

What I do is go to animefreak and look for anime that has only a few episode so far, watch episode 1 and decide whether I want to continue or not...

 

[Happy]

I'm just going to recommend Shingeki No Kyojin and quote you the post I made in Shingeki No Kyojin thread:

I haven't read the manga, so I can't speak from its behalf, but the anime, oh my god it's hard to compare it to any other existing title.

I've seen a lot of series, and some of my favorite ones are those that have intriguing slightly philosophical or ethical overtones and strong characters. (Berserk, Monster, Gungrave) though I also like series that are just generally well directed and maintain a solid flow (Death Note, TTGL, GTO, Steins;Gate, etc), though if they get way too illogical or incoherent, I find them pretty hard to enjoy. (Hello Code Geass I'm looking at you.)

However, I can't see how Shingeki No Kyojin's anime adaption would have a slow progress. Maybe compared to some titles (which ones, actually?) but I feel that most episodes have succesfully established strong themes. I was pretty amazed how the episode that explained Mikasa's past was done, for example. (The scene which explains natural instincts.)

I keep continuously noticing different thematic motifs and references to modern world. I feel the series presents many interesting topics that have just been disguised to Shingeki no Kyojin's setting. The series also has quite a bit of foreshadowing, so I wouldn't say it's confusing.

I wouldn't say that the progression is entirely predictable either, though, because unlike other animes this series manages to maintain relatively realistic approach, by which I mean that the characters and their actions feel real because their logic and feelings aren't neglected in order for the plot to advance.

Long story short: I feel this series has mature approach and it is thought provoking. If you've got a very short attention span, it might not be fore you.

For me it's currently tying on my favorite series' place with Berserk.

 

+ The production values seem very high. Other series I'd recommend are Monster and the original Berserk anime adaption. Also, you could try Death Note if you haven't already.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

For me (I like these two anime BTW):

Shingeki no kyojin - I feel like it's quite slow (I just feel like some parts could have been made faster)

SAO - This one was a complete reverse, it's too fast (Aincrad has 100 floors (75 floors before they actually beat the game) and it took only 14 episodes to finish)

 

[Fatalfugus]

Ooooohhh... "Monster" seems insanely interesting. I've been reading the basic plot synopsis of all the suggestions here, and Monster instantly stood out. I see it's a 74 episode series though, much longer than the ones I've loved so far. Does it ever get boring? Do the undertones or atmosphere die out mid-series? Because if they don't, we might have a winner.

 

[jimm0thy]

SAO is a great anime but might not be in your tastes. As others have suggested I would say Cowboy Bebop is a good one. Samurai Champloo isn't really dark though.

Black Butler would be another one I would suggest, as well as Shin Sekai Yori

 

[kerbonklin]

I was one of those people who read Mirai Nikki while it wasn't popular and the manga was still updating. It was like my sophomore year of highschool at the time.

Then when they made the anime for it during my first year of college (so like 2-3 years later) everyone was like OMG MIRAI NIKKI IS SO COOL and I was just sitting there shaking my head in disgust, while doing my own manga-to-anime comparisons.

 

[Fatalfugus]

Anyone have a lead on a good english-dubbed stream of "Attack on Titan"?

 

[Chaneque]

SAO is a great anime but might not be in your tastes. As others have suggested I would say Cowboy Bebop is a good one. Samurai Champloo isn't really dark though.

Black Butler would be another one I would suggest, as well as Shin Sekai Yori

I would suggest Shinsekai Yori and probably not Black Butler, though I don't know what the anime of Black Butler is like since I'm still reading the manga. 

 

[LRDean_Socks]

I love serial Experiment Lain and Ergo Proxy.  I would recommend Paranoia Agent, its really strange but interesting, Death Note really good, Haibane Renmei is more light hearted but still good. Full Metal Alchemist if you want to watch some action with a good story. Gankutsuo/ also known as Count of Monticristo (I may have misspelled that) its its very colorful literally, but dark story. Wolf's Rain is really good but, I don't know how to describe it. Black Butler is also dark, but it is also fun to watch. That's all I have at the moment, but sometimes watching anime reviews can sometimes help with deciding on what to watch. Make sure its spoiler free though.

 

[Adam Fort]

I like One Piece, Bleach, Evangelion.

 

[Happy]

Ooooohhh... "Monster" seems insanely interesting. I've been reading the basic plot synopsis of all the suggestions here, and Monster instantly stood out. I see it's a 74 episode series though, much longer than the ones I've loved so far. Does it ever get boring? Do the undertones or atmosphere die out mid-series? Because if they don't, we might have a winner.

It's a while since I watched it, so I can't remember clearly, but from what I recall I didn't really get bored of it at any point.

Maybe at some points it felt a bit derivative as all episodes didn't probably contribute to the main plot scenario as much as they could have, but generally those episodes were still paced well and they were relevant to the story. I guess that comes with long series, though - there's always episodes that can't be as strong as the most dramatic portions of the series, but that's fine as long as they don't hurt the flow. And in Monster's case I think they didn't.

As for your other question: GG

 

[Touchfuzzy]

I think that the manga of Monster was better than the anime (which is funny, because it was almost 1:1 translation in most parts.) The issue is that the pacing works in the manga because your reading speed is the only thing holding you from going faster, while the anime DRAAAGS forever. This opinion might be based on me having read the manga from start to finish before trying to watch the anime, so the long parts didn't provide any tension because I already knew what happens.


As for an anime you should watch, I would suggest one I suggest to everyone but no one actually ever watches: Infinite Ryvius. It has slow build up at the beginning, but its really good, and while it does have action 99% of the series is about the psychology of the people involved. The best summary of the series I can think of is The Lord of the Flies crossed with The Hunt for Red October IIIIIIIIIIN SPAAAAAAAACE. It has a large cast with lots of moving parts and characters all with their own personality and motives. Its very good.

 

[Sailerius]

I'm not a HUGE anime fan by any standards, but I've found a few of them that I would count as my favorite things I've ever seen on TV.

At risk of sounding hipster, I really don't like the "big name" series. Naruto, one piece, pretty much anything that you hear about on a regular basis has never interested me...

The point of all this is I'm trying to find a new one to watch, and I don't know enough to find out which one is worth my time of looking into. My current favorites go as follows:

1. Serial Experiments: Lain

2. Elfen Lied

3. Gungrave

4. Last Exile

5. Ergo Proxy

Others: NGE remakes, Claymore, Berserk

The more philosophy and character depth, and preferably the darker the atmosphere, the more I'm going to like it. Do you guys have any suggestions?

If this gets answered really quick, we can turn this into a general discussion thread or a "What's your favorites!?" type thing.

Given your favorites so far, there's only one possible answer: Texhnolyze. It's by the same studio that made Serial Experiments Lain and is something of a spiritual successor. It's much, much more philosophical and darker than Lain, and that's saying something. The pacing can be unfortunately slow at times (which is why I don't usually recommend it to people) but if you enjoyed Lain, it's a must-see. Also, and this is another rare thing for me to say, I highly recommend the dub. Not only is the dub very high quality, but the fan translation groups all botched the last few episodes, which make it almost incomprehensible.

 

[Celianna]

I actually do like Naruto ... well, the beginning at least. It had a very charming atmosphere, but things after the time skip basically ruined everything for me. I even enjoy popular Fairy Tail - there's no shame in liking popular anime, nor are you somehow better if you like obscure anime that is known for being dark and edgy.


Ever tried Death Note? Dark, smart, philosophical etc. Then there's Gantz, sorta the same atmosphere, lots of gore though. I want to recommend Hunter x Hunter, but you'd probably get bored of it in the beginning and think it's a Naruto rip-off, but HxH is basically a deconstructed shounen anime, it shows what happens when stereotypes get put in real life threatening situations. The current episodes that are airing are very dark and twisted, it's nothing like the happy beginning it was once before.


Then again, I would simply recommend reading manga instead. There's so many works out there that don't have an anime adaption, but you'd definitely enjoy reading it.

 

[Sharm]

I second the suggestion of FMA, but I'd go with Brotherhood or the manga.  The first anime didn't have any variety with how dark it was so I just got sick of it, and I've heard that complaint from a lot of other people.  Brotherhood is more like the manga with a better balance of darkness, humor and action.  The manga is the best though, there's a lot more to it and I love how everything comes together in a surprising yet inevitable fashion.

 

[joeyhugg]

Agreed. I am currently watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and so far it is on the top of my favorites. I'm on part 4 episode 9 on Netflix.